Class of 2011
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: Follows the Naruto gang through high school. Gangs, drugs, romance...the whole nine yards. AU, of course. NaruHina, LeeSaku, ItaKisa, SasoDei, HidanKakuza, ShikaTema, PeinKonan, AsuKuren, KabuTayu, and ZetsuTobi. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke walked into the school without expecting much.

High school. Whoopee. Well, at least now they had a set schedule and better activities. His old school had sucked major dick and, of course, the dicks from his old school were stalking him, he swore. He knew half the entire five hundred odd freshman class. Fortunately, there were new opportunities for him, like gangs, drugs, and sex.

Yeah, right.

Pulling out his class schedule, Sasuke checked his homeroom number. 603. Great. During orientation that had been one of the last classrooms they had seen. Partially because it was simply not important, and partly because it was as far away from the main entrance to campus as you could get. Sighing again, Sasuke braced himself for a long walk.

OOOOOOOOOO

Ino strutted down the hallways, flicking her blonde hair back over her shoulder as she went. Sasuke, Sasuke…where was Sasuke? The little slut was trying to give her the slip, she swore. Oh, well. At least they had the same homeroom, if nothing else.

Catching a glimpse of Sasuke's black hair and leather clothing, Ino darted after him through the crowds.

OOOOOOOOOO

Kabuto bolted for homeroom, swearing a few times. He knew his homeroom teacher, Orochimaru: he had had the sadist as a sophomore, as he was in Honors Biology. And the man loved long assignments: detailed lab reports, five-page essays, the like. In short, Kabuto loved him. He loved the challenges his teacher posed, and met them all to the highest standards. Orochimaru always seemed amused that Kabuto tried so hard: he once gave Kabuto extra credit on a test he had gotten an A on just for submitting the test first. He claimed it was a reward for studying and making a true effort, but Kabuto strongly suspected the man liked him for doing that _every single test_.

Still grinning, Kabuto ran a little faster. Orochimaru might not like him as much if he got to homeroom late.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi stalked through the crowds, looking murderous. He hated his homeroom teacher: hated him. Son of a…

Pein was the World History and Western Civilization teacher, and he had made Itachi's life hell all three years he had had him. Luckily, Itachi knew some people who sold…illegal substances that could be stuck to doorways and rigged to fall.

"Yo! Uchiha!"

A tall, bulky eighteen-year-old with blue skin greeted Itachi with a sharp-toothed grin. "How's your summer, bitch?"

"I'm not your whore," Itachi mumbled. Kisame laughed.

"Mah, too good for football this season, huh?"

Itachi stared. "I never played to begin with."

Kisame's grin only widened. "Yeah, that's right. Too good to be a jock, not good enough to be a slut."

Itachi sighed. "Not in the mood for it."

"Hey, at least we've got homeroom together," he said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "We can torture him together!"

A small smile teased at the corners of Itachi's lips. "Oh, yes," he said, new possibilities suddenly dawning on him. "We might actually have a good year this time around…"

OOOOOOOOO

"Hey! Freshman!"

Tayuya glanced at the senior who had called her. "You better not be talkin' to me, asshole."

"Whoa, freshman with attitude," the senior sneered. "Carry my books to class," he said, dumping his backpack into Tayuya's arms. Tayuya flung the backpack back at the boy, tank top showing off her smooth muscles and impressive strength-and enormous chest.

"Get your own whore," she snickered as the backpack threw the senior into the lockers. "I'm taken."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi surveyed his homeroom as the bell rang. Not much this year-he had a homeroom of freshman this year, and he was less than enthusiastic.

"This is homeroom. I'm pretty good about this, so do your homework, pass notes, chat, put on makeup, as long as it doesn't involve paper airplanes. Then other teachers see them and get pissed. And then the other teachers tattle, and then the principal pays us a visit, and then _I_ get pissed. So! Anything illegal, except airplanes and projectiles. Have fun."

The students looked at each other, then back at their teacher. Kakashi seemed not to care: really and truly not caring. At all. A smirk overcame Sakon's features. He could have fun in this class…

OOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru stood leaning on a desk and reading over some papers. No paper airplanes…gum got banned this year…meh, nothing new.

"Starting this year, you are fined ten dollars for gum," he said absently, tucking several locks of ridiculously long black hair behind his ear. His earrings swayed with the motion as he straightened a bit and continued to read. "Why, don't ask me, just stick it behind your front teeth so I don't have to take your lunch money. Kabuto, nice to see you again. Sai, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you got expelled."

The teen sighed and kicked his feet up on the desk. "I did."

Orochimaru sighed and shook his head, going back to the paper. "Okay, basically, no illegal drug traffic. Man, these are going to be the best five minutes of your school day. If I catch drugs, I send you to Sarutobi. And we all hate liver spots, so everybody keep your mouth shut and your gum under your tongue. Now do all the summer work you were planning to blow off so you can at least pass first quarter."

Sasori grinned and leaned over to his best friend, Deidara. "Master of sarcasm," he whispered, gesturing to Orochimaru. "Don't mess with him. I had him for Honors Bio when I was a sophomore with Kabuto-he's a bitch any time before noon. The coffee can't get through his system fast enough."

The blonde gave him a cheeky grin. "Bitch, seriously? Great, I can turn the room into art, un!"

Kabuto turned around, smiling when he saw his friends. "I wouldn't," he said, still smiling. "Like Sasori said, he's the master of sarcasm. Don't mess with him, he will kick your ass."

Deidara's smile only widened. He got the feeling he could mouth off with this one…

OOOOOOOO

"Shikamaru!"

The Nara spun around, searching out the girl's voice.

"Temari!"

He spun her around and kissed her, dropping his backpack in the process.

"What changed? I thought you were going to Sunaga High!"

Temari grinned. "Nope! Chose this one, Konoha High. I missed you."

Shikamaru grinned. "Who's your homeroom teacher?"

Temari pulled out her class schedule, looked it over, and said, "Konan."

Shikamaru smiled. "Konan!"

"Come on, let's go!" Temari urged. "She won't let us get away with making out in the back if we're late!"

OOOOOOOO

Asuma glanced out over his class. Juniors again…oh, boy. But on the bright side, he had had a few of his homeroom as Algebra 2 students last year, so he knew a few people. Lee, Tenten, Neji…a few others, but not many. He sighed, going over the rules.

"No food in lockers? Jeez, where are you going to keep your lunch?"

A long-haired girl in a green tank top and camouflage pants shrugged. "Our backpacks?"

Asuma shook his head. "Nope. Stick 'em in your lockers, and if

anyone has tuna…pray."

Dosu grinned and elbowed Zaku. They were so bringing tuna tomorrow!

OOOOOOOOOO

**Class Schedule: Uzumaki Naruto**

** Homeroom: 204, Pein**

** Locker Number: 2358C**

**Period 1: Algebra 1, Sarutobi Asuma, rm. 308**

**Period 2: Spanish, Yuuhi Kurenai, rm. 407**

**Period 3: P.E., Tsunade, rm. GYM/Computer Fundamentals, Maito Gai, rm. 105**

**Period 4: Western Civilization, Pein, rm. 204**

**Period 5: Science, Orochimaru, rm. 508**

**Period 6: Lunch, Jiraiya, rm. CAFETERIA**

**Period 7: Study, Konan, rm. THEATER**

**Period 8: English Literature, Hatake Kakashi, rm. 603**

Naruto scratched his head, staring at the schedule with a blank stare that could only imply being completely lost. He was standing at his locker, looking for his homeroom, and just looking around.

Well, he wasn't going to get very far just standing here. With renewed determination, Naruto began wandering around, looking for his homeroom.

OOOOOOOOO

As the first bell rang, Orochimaru sighed and tossed some papers down on his desk. It was only the first day, and already he wanted summer back. Oh, well. He only had classes first, fifth, and eighth period, so between that he could do whatever he wished. It was nice, being so spaced out, because he could nap in between classes. He stood up as his first period juniors entered the classroom, and leaned back against the board.

"Welcome to first period Biology. Get here before the bell, or I'll bite your ass off."

OOOOOOOOO

Shikamaru ran through the crowded halls, searching for room 308. Algebra first period-sucked. Well, at least he and Temari had four out of eight classes together: if they got there early enough, they could make out in the back before class.

"Asuma!"

Asuma grinned at Shikamaru. "Yep, I teach here, too. But only mornings."

Asuma had been Shikamaru's honors Algebra teacher in eighth grade, and

Shikamaru had been a star student, In Asuma's opinion-when he motivated himself. Which was rarely.

"Well, then, Shikamaru, you know just what to expect. Sit down, and spit out your gum. Lest I take your lunch money."

**A/N: Well, I've been bitten by the plot bunny. High school fics: t****hey're addicting, I swear!! Anyway, this is my first shot at AU like this, so reviews would be appreciated. Not to mention I won't post the next chapter if you don't review, so you may as well. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, now that we've established that I'll kill you if you're late, Kabuto, spit out your gum."

"Aw, do I have to?"

Orochimaru kicked the trash can over to the silver-haired teen. "I'll meet you half way."

Kabuto grumbled a bit, but spat his gum into the trash can.

"Okay, business item number two: paper airplanes will be confiscated. They've gotten a lot more paranoid as of late, so keep them in your backpacks until my back is turned. Sai, _get out."_

Sai's feet were still on the desk, and he hadn't moved since he walked into homeroom. "Give me one good reason why I should."

Orochimaru's lips lifted in a snarl. "Because coming back was clearly your idea of a joke, because you are small and insignificant, and because I will pummel you if you don't. Three. Now get out!"

Sai gulped and swung his feet off the desk. "Three…very good reasons, sir…I'll…just be going now…"

"Scat. Kurori, what's in your pocket?"

"Cell phone," the boy mumbled. Orochimaru lifted one dark eyebrow.

"I'm going to ask again. Either you tell the truth, or I send you down to the nurse's office for a strip search. Your choice."

"Yeesh, big deal about everything, huh?" He tossed the phone at Orochimaru, who caught it one-handed.

"You get it back at the end of the day. Come down here after last period and get it back."

"Aw, man, I got a bus!"

Orochimaru smirked. "Walk fast." he turned and tossed the phone onto his desk, then returned his attention to the class. "Anyway…here is a list of what I expect of you, as seniors, so keep this in a folder, in your textbook, whatever. Just don't lose it because I won't waste the paper on you." Orochimaru handed the first person in each row a small stack of papers, gesturing for them to pass the papers back. "And make sure you don't get caught making this into a paper airplane. Do it on the bus."Kabuto sighed. "Orochimaru-sama, you tyrant."

OOOOOOOOOO

Pein sighed as he recognized half of the sophomore students coming into his classroom. Either this was a sucky year, or they were lost.

"Seating chart is on the board. Find your name and sit down."

After the four minutes between classes were up, Pein turned to the class in front of him and glanced around. Kin was back, and so was Tenten…Neji had reappeared, long hair and everything else against school dress code, and Dosu had returned with even more decorative bandages than last year.

"Nice to see some familiar faces," he said dryly, and gestured to the other half of the board. "Class expectations. Read them and copy them down onto a sheet of paper. I don't particularly care where, so long as it's somewhere you won't lose it."

The class shrugged and took out pens and paper, then began copying down the short paragraph Pein had written down. Pein, in the meantime, took out a small book and opened to a page early in the book.

"Okay, for tomorrow, have a binder with paper and a pen. We'll be starting next week, but I want to make sure everyone has it. Any questions?"

None.

Pein nodded, and continued to go over the class expectations.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke stalked through the hallways, messenger bag slung over one shoulder. His books were stuck in simply so he didn't have to carry them, and he seemed like he simply couldn't care less. He noticed the teacher's eyes on him as he walked into his first period class, English Lit., and took a seat in the back.

Hatake Kakashi…he was attractive, by many standards. His silver hair stood up slightly, and was a bit long. It fell over his left eye, completely covering it, and he could see underneath the bandages covering the eye. His shirt was half open, and his tie was loose around his neck. He leaned on the desk with an air of I-don't-care-now-go-away, and he looked like he was ready to say, "Think fast!" and throw a piece of chalk at you.

As the class began trickling in, Kakashi straightened and glanced at the clock. Three more minutes…he sighed and pulled out a small paperback, slouching in his desk chair and beginning to read.

"Um…e-excuse me…?"

Kakashi glanced up at a shy girl with a messenger bag standing next to his desk. "Hinata, right? Hyuuga Hinata?"

The girl nodded. "Th-This is English Literature, right?" she said quietly, a small blush on her cheeks. Kakashi nodded and closed the book.

"Yes, it is. Sit where you want, but if you are talking, I'll move you. I might move people depending on who I think can see over other peoples heads, but that's about it."

Hinata smiled and took a seat in the front corner of the room; all the way on the right in the front row. The last of the class came in, and sat down in the seats left. The bell rang, and the last person flew into the room, panting.

"Sorry!" the teen panted, running a hand through her pink hair. "I was coming from 603, and-"

"It's okay," Kakashi interrupted. "Just sit down."

Sakura nodded and sat down in the one desk left, right in the front and center. Kakashi leaned back against the board, hands in his pockets.

"Well, this is English Lit. That means-no texting. Because people who text tend to be illiterate. So-if I catch you with a phone during class, it's ten bucks to get it back. At the end of the day. I don't care what you do between classes, by your lockers, before and after school, but during class-no phones. 'Kay?"

An affirmative mumble echoed from the class.

"Well, that was pathetic," Kakashi sighed, crossing one leg over another. "But, whatever. You need, for tomorrow preferably, a three-ring binder with paper, a pen, yes it has to be a pen, and your first book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Have it by Friday, okay?"

Nods.

Kakashi sighed and lowered his head, tossing his silver hair when it came back up. "We've got a long way to go…freshman."

OOOOOOOOO

As the bell rang, Kakuza and Hidan practically ran out of a classroom together. "Okay, worst Spanish _ever."_

"Hidan-it's the first day, and classes are ten minutes each."

"Boooring!" Hidan replied, pushing Kakuza into the lockers. "Ya think I'm gonna sit there and take shit about ten bucks for gum? Dude, I could get ten _packages _for more than that."

Kakuza laughed and shoved his friend back. "Get over yourself. We've got P.E. next…"

"With Tsunade?"

Itachi slung an arm over each of his friend's shoulders. "So do I."

"How about Kisame?" Hidan asked, stopping at his locker and dialing in the code on his combination lock. Itachi shook his head.

"He has study right now…he plays football, so he doesn't have to take P.E."

"Lucky bitch," Kakuza muttered. "Sucks…it's a pain in the ass to change, the class itself is a pain in the ass, Tsunade's a bitch-"

"Oh, shut up!" Hidan said loudly, slamming his locker. "Bitch-"

"Watch your mouth," Itachi said. "If a teacher walks by you're gonna be so screwed…"

Hidan shrugged and began walking towards the locker room. "I'd rather be in detention than in P.E."

OOOOOOOOO

"Move it, freshman! I said run, not stroll! Now _move!"_

Itachi sighed and slowed down a bit for Hidan and Kakuza. The two caught up with him and the three began running together.

"Jeez, is it just me or is she getting meaner?"

Itachi sighed and continued the laps of the soccer field. "I don't know. It's hard to tell."

"Is she gonna chase us again this year?" Hidan whined, wiping his forehead. "Last year she chased us if we slowed down…"

Kakuza snorted. "Lucky you," he said sarcastically. "We had her fifth period, and she wasn't really that mean. Partly because she was eating lunch, so her mouth was full, and also because food pacifies her."

Itachi grinned. "Ah, whatever. While we're here, we may as well plot our evil revenge."

_"Move it, freshman!"_

Hidan sighed. "We're seniors."

OOOOOOOOO

"Hey, freshman!"

Kabuto glanced at the girl who glanced up at Dosu's call. "You talkin' to me, shithead?"

"Yeah," Dosu sneered. "As a matter of fact, I am." He smirked and gestured to Tayuya to come closer. "Wanna go out? You're cute."

"Quit hitting on me, bitch," Tayuya snarled, shoving Dosu into the lockers. "And get a life."

"Whoa, hey," Kabuto said, suddenly stepping in. "Everybody take it easy." In truth he was scared of this girl-she could probably land Dosu in the hospital from the looks of her. "Look, where are you headed?"

The red-head looked slightly suspicious, but she answered, "Algebra."

Kabuto smiled. "I'll walk you there."

Tayuya seemed a bit more relaxed. "Well, I don't suppose you have a girlfriend?"

Kabuto's smile widened. "Nope."

Tayuya grinned. "Room 308?"

Kabuto nodded and began walking with Tayuya.

OOOOOOOOO

Kankuro collapsed in the seat for third period Spanish. He was doing pretty well, but this year he had moved up a level and he wasn't sure if it would actually require effort to get through the class. His sister was taking a junior class in sophomore year, so maybe she could help…

"Welcome to third period Spanish," the female teacher said after the bell rang, walking to the front of the classroom. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, and this is sophomore Spanish. I expect everyone to do their homework, make an effort not to fail, and not mouth off. If you can do that, you'll pass my class. If not, you fail. Very simple, so I expect no failures. Got that?"

A mumble was her only response.

"Good enough. Now, since this is Spanish 2, I expect something more than my freshman class and less than my juniors. So! Get higher than the juniors and you're in business. Get lower than the freshman and I kick you down a level. Okay?"

Another mumble.

Kurenai sighed. "I hope you're better than this when you're learning t say the words…"

OOOOOOOOOO

By the end of the day, Kabuto was walking Tayuya to the bus.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she said shyly, holding her books in her arms. Kabuto nodded.

"I'll get you a copy of my schedule so we can figure out when we can see each other. Where's your locker?"

"537A."

Kabuto nodded again. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

Tayuya nodded. "Well…there's my bus…"

"Um…okay…see ya."

As Tayuya boarded the bus, he couldn't help but wonder what was going to come of this.

**A/N: Very fluffy scene…review please, or no next chapter!!**


	3. Chapter 3

Tayuya walked into school the next day, heading straight for her locker. She had wanted to get there early enough to meet Kabuto, so she had actually made an effort to make the bus.

"Tayuya! You made it here before the call bell!"

Tayuya glanced up. Sakon and Ukon were walking towards her, grinning. Tayuya smiled.

"Yeah, well, I got somewhere to b, so I tried to make the bus."

Ukon raised his eyebrows. "Meeting your boyfriend?"

Tayuya blushed and looked down at the books she was carrying in her arms. "Yes. No! Kind of…"

Ukon sighed. "And so it begins."

OOOOOOOOOO

Kabuto leaned against the locker, waiting. Tayuya had promised to be here, but she didn't seem like the kind of girl to be early…or even punctual. That was why he was surprised when he saw the shock of red hair walking towards him.

"Tayuya, glad to see you so early," Kabuto said, standing up straight. Tayuya blushed.

"Um, yeah, I didn't want to make you wait too long, so I actually did try to get here before the call bell," she said with a small laugh. Kabuto moved out of the way as Tayuya spun her combination lock, unlocked her locker, and began putting her books away.

"So, what classes do you have?" Tayuya asked as she put her books back in her locker. Kabuto handed her a copy of his schedule, and Tayuya promptly taped it to the inside of her locker. Kabuto smiled.

"And yours?"

Tayuya handed Kabuto a paper, and Kabuto nodded. "Fair. I'll tape this up later," he said, putting Tayuya's schedule in a folder. "So, how's it going?"

"Okay," Tayuya said, shrugging. "It's only the second day, so I can't really say much yet," she laughed, slamming her locker. She put the lock back on and reset the combination, then turned to Kabuto. "Do you want to go to your locker now?"

"That'd be great," Kabuto said, stepping aside. "Come on."

Tayuya followed Kabuto down the hallway, past classrooms, and just all over creation to his locker. Kabuto opened it easily, taping up Tayuya's schedule.

"I keep a roll of tape in here," he said, putting the roll on the back hook in his locker. "I have since my freshman year. I've found that it comes in handy very often…"

Tayuya smiled. "I used to use it on people all the time in old school," she said. "I figure in high school it'll be harder to tape people's lockers shut without duct tape, but I've got some of that, too."

Kabuto grinned. "I'd do that afterhours, though," he said. "Don't pull anything off during school hours, because you never know who's walking around."

Tayuya smiled. "I'll remember that."

"Hey, if you want to join play this year, you could," Kabuto said. "Everyone does just so they can walk down to the mall after school and come back for play at five. I'm an extra."

"It works," Tayuya said. "We dismiss at three, so, yeah, works perfectly…"

Kabuto nodded and pulled out a package of gum. "If you get caught, behind the front teeth is the best place to put it," he said. "If you talk, it won't get in the way, and under your tongue, when you talk, people see it. Between your lip and teeth makes a lump, so don't do that unless you have real chipmunk cheeks."Tayuya grinned. "I'll remember that."

Kabuto offered her a piece. "Mint," he said, when Tayuya glanced at him with a questioning look on her face. Tayuya shrugged and accepted the gum, unwrapping it and sliding it past her lips.

"Good stuff", she said after a moment. "What kind is it?"

Kabuto glanced at the package. "I dunno," he said, turning it. "Oh, Trident."

Tayuya nodded. "It's sweet stuff."

Kabuto stuck the gum back in his locker, then began pulling out books and stuffing them in his backpack. "Oh, I hate my locker," he muttered. "It's in the middle of dead effin' nowhere."

Tayuya smiled. "What's the diagnosis for mine?"

Kabuto snorted. "In a perfect place," he said ruefully. "You'll probably pass it on the way to every class."

Tayuya grinned. "Sweet!"

Kabuto sighed. "Oh, well. At least my locker's near homeroom. That way, when I run out, I can offload all the homework I did during homeroom."

"Doing homework during homeroom, Kabuto?"

Kabuto barely turned. He knew it was Orochimaru behind him; he was used to the man sneaking up on him like that.

"Hall duty, Orochimaru-sama?" he returned, smiling. "And yes, I do homework very often during homeroom. There's nothing better to do, really."

Orochimaru laughed, pushing his hair off his shoulders. "Well, that's true." As he turned to walk away, he called back over his shoulder: "Spit out your gum, both of you."

Kabuto sighed. "The one pitfall," he said, dislodging the gum from the roof of his mouth. "The smell. So far, no one's figured out a trick for that. Rumors are Tsunade knows how, but no one is actually sure."

Tayuya sighed. "So, where do you hide it when teachers walk by and tell you to spit it out?"

Kabuto sighed. "If they just walk away, like Orochimaru did, then you just don't. Because if they walk away, they must not care very much. But, if they actually make you spit it out, you spit it into your hand and pretend to throw that away, but when they turn their back again, you stick it back in your mouth. Gross, but it works if you figure out how to stick it between your fingers or get it stuck to your palm."

Tayuya nodded. "Man, is it really worth all that trouble to figure out?"

"For some people, yes," Kabuto said. "And besides, who wants to totally waste a stick of gum? Exactly. So you figure it out, bit by bit, and then pool the knowledge. Then you spread that around, and everyone chips in."

Tayuya smiled. "How much have you contributed?"

Kabuto grinned. "Absolutely none of it. But hey, a lot of the people here are gum addicts."

Tayuya shook her head. "So, what other knowledge can you share?"

"Upperclassmen will always cut you in line. Be nice to the lunch ladies and you can get free cheese with your nachos. There is no foozball table on the roof of the main building. There is no shortcut to the science building in the gym. And finally, Tsunade keeps candy in her office, but she has security cameras for the sports equipment, so suck it up instead of stealing."

Tayuya laughed. "Security cameras? Dude, are you fucking serious?"

Kabuto nodded. "Like I said, sports equipment. I doubt it, though."

"Yo, bitch!"

Kabuto found himself falling backwards and slamming backwards into a locker, shoved by Kisame. "Yeah, watch it, nerd," some of his fellow jocks sneered. "You're gonna end up in the locker instead of next to it!"

"Hey, beat it bastards!"

Kabuto glanced at Tayuya, straightened. "Don't get involved with this," he said warningly, watching Tayuya shrug off her backpack. "They're senior jocks, and, while stupid, they have a tendency to beat people up-"

"I don't care," Tayuya muttered, shaking out her bared arms. "Little shitheads," she sneered, and moved for Kisame. A well-aimed kick made it to Kisame's stomach, and Tayuya spun around, using her momentum to kick out twice in the air at another jock. Tayuya heard a satisfying grunt as her first kick connected, and then her second. She swung a closed fist at someone's face, but her hand was suddenly stopped.

A familiar voice hissed in her ear, "What do you think you're doing?"

Tayuya growled and wrenched against Orochimaru's full nelson, surprised at the man's strength. "Look, man," she said, wriggling back and forth, "I got places to go and jocks to beat up-"

"And gum to spit out. And detention to serve."

Tayuya sighed. "I hate kicking pretty boys…" Her foot flashed back, connecting with Orochimaru's shin, and she dropped to the floor with her arms up, sliding down out of Orochimaru's grasp.

"Girl, you think I haven't seen that before?"

Orochimaru set one hand on the back of Tayuya's neck, forcing her face-first into the ground and grabbing her wrist. "I've been doing this for years; and I wouldn't recommend moving."

"He's right, don't move," Kabuto said quickly. "That's fifteen years of martial arts training under that black belt, so I would be careful, if I were you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm in a gang," Tayuya muttered. Kabuto could see her other hand shifting, and called out,

"Tayuya, no!"

"What is going on here?"

Everyone froze.

Sandaime himself stood behind the crowd that had gathered, hands behind his back, glaring at the two on the floor. Orochimaru glared right back, golden eyes pouring out on Sandaime's. "Just breaking up a little fight," he said. "Everyone who I caught here initially is guilty by association, and will serve detention how and when I see fit. That includes you, Kabuto. Kabuto, Kisame, Zetsu, Ryuu, Kenshin, Ichigo, and _you, _little girl-all of you, come with me." Orochimaru stood up, folded his arms across his chest, and walked away, the said students following him. Tayuya reached behind her, her hand sliding into her jeans pocket.

"Tayuya!" Kabuto whispered. "I know you could, but you can't-!"

Tayuya gave Kabuto a look that clearly said, _You're__ joking, right? _but she slid the knife back into her pocket, flipping it closed on the way. Kabuto sighed.

"You're a piece of work, little girl," he muttered, tipping his head. "But that's probably why I like you."

Tayuya snorted. "Call me little and we'll have a repeat of two seconds ago!"

"In," Orochimaru snarled, opening a door. Tayuya groaned when she read the sign above it: PRINCIPAL. Kabuto sighed, and the jocks shrugged.

"They probably can't read it," Tayuya muttered under her breath. "It has more than four letters!"

Kabuto covered his snorts of laughter with his hand, desperately trying to smother them. All this earned him was a glare from Orochimaru and the slamming of a door.

"Second day, Tayuya," Kabuto sighed. "Second day…"

OOOOOOOOO

"Detention for a month," Kabuto groaned. "And private detention, none the less!"

"Whazzat mean?" Tayuya muttered, opening her locker.

"It means, that instead of the standard 'sit there and snooze,' we have to do whatever Orochimaru tells us to do! And the man has been known to make people scrape gum off of wherever he finds it!"

Tayuya winced. "Yee-ouch," she said, off-loading several books. "Let's see, geometry…science…English…all set!" she exclaimed, slamming her locker. Kabuto stared.

"You're not concerned about this?" he asked, walking next to her. "At all?"

Tayuya shrugged. "I had detention almost every weekend where I used to go to school," she said, "It's really not all that it's racked up to be."

"You've never had it with Orochimaru," Kabuto muttered. "I hear horror stories from his detentions."

"What's the point of detentions, anyway?" Tayuya asked. "Don't tell me they actually think we 'learn' something from it and 'we'll never do it again.'"

"Well, I think that is the point," he said sadly. "Shocking, isn't it?"

"We're high schoolers," Tayuya said. "We screw things up, piss off teachers everywhere, and get zits. It's what we do."

Kabuto sighed. "Little monster," he muttered, stopping in front of his locker. "Ooooooooh, last period," he said, dumping several books into his locker. "I can't wait…"

"To get this over with?" Tayuya said dryly. "Dude, it's only the second day and already I want summer back…"

"I can see why."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Ugh, _my God…"_

"Long day?"

Tsunade poked her head into Orochimaru's room, only to find him collapsing onto a desk and leaning back. "You're gonna fall," she cautioned. "And I'm not going to run and catch you, I'm just gonna laugh…"

"I don't caaaaaaaaaare…"

Tsunade snorted and tossed a pack of papers at Orochimaru's head. "Think fast!"

Orochimaru reached up and caught the papers with one hand; however, the process overbalanced him, and he began to slide off the desk.

"Whoa, shit!"

Orochimaru sat bolt upright, shaking his head. "Wow, I hate this already…"

"You're worse than some of the kids here," Tsunade said. "But seriously, you should have saved the big shocker for the middle of the year. It loses impact after a while."

Orochimaru shook his hair out of his face. "No, they need to respect me early on. And if they know I'll carry out my threats, they'll retain that respect throughout the years."

"Hm…your mind works backwards."

"Takes one to know one."

Tsunade sighed. "Anyway, if you run out of gum for them to scrape off the desks, the kids can clean sports equipment."

"I'm thinkin' gym socks and smelly lockers."

"Amen."

"Football team."

"A-men."

**A/N: Man, school's rough, ne? Review, please!!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Tayuya! Hi!"

Tayuya sighed as she turned around. She recognized the voice: Ino. It was the last day of the first week, and already she was sick of the preps.

"Sooo," Ino started, "I hear you're dating a senior…"

No response.

"What's his name…?"

Tayuya sighed and slammed her locker. "Look bitch, I got detention after school, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't piss me off right now, ne?"

"Oh, come on!" Ino whined, trotting after Tayuya. "At least tell me his name!"

"Yakushi Kabuto. He's adorable, he's sexy, and he's smart. Keep your dirty paws off him or I will kill you."

Ino looked slightly taken aback. "But-"

"But what? Whoops! don't care."

"Aw, but I wanted to meet him-!"

_"Paws off, little slut!"_

"Language, Tayuya."

Tayuya grinned. "Kabuto, hey. Ready for detention?" she asked, sliding one hand into his.

"Yeah, I'm pumped," Kabuto drawled. He started for his locker, Tayuya at his side. "Orochimaru's detentions are hell, I hear. Anyway…"

Tayuya smiled. "But we'll be there together, so we can throw things and confuse him!"

Kabuto snorted. "Don't get carried away," he said. "Unless you wanna frame the jocks…"

Tayuya smiled. "Works for me."

Kabuto opened his locker, throwing some books in and slamming it closed again. "Well?"

"First period."

"…first period."

OOOOOOOOO

"Okay!"

Asuma slammed a textbook down on his desk, catching everyone's attention as the first bell rang…everyone but a girl and a boy in the back.

"Welcome to Algebra. Take out your notebooks: we are taking notes. Make sure you write in pen for the notes, pencil for the tests. Shikamaru and Temari, stop making out, we're about to begin."

Said lovers broke apart and blushed. "Sorry," Temari muttered. She and Shikamaru each slid back to their respective seats, finding a blank notebook and a pen. Asuma sighed and found a piece of chalk.

"Copy down the problem and solve it. The first few days will be a review."

OOOOOOOOO

"Okay, everyone, since your minds are probably elsewhere, I think it's best we save the work for next week. So, just talk quietly amongst yourselves, get to know each other, all that good stuff."

"What're you gonna be doing?" a red-head asked sleepily. Kakashi grinned, his one visible eye dancing.

"I'll be catching up on some much-needed sleep."

"Well, wait!" a pink-haired girl called out. "We want to know about you, too!"

"We're teenagers, un!" a blonde said. "Curiosity is our specialty!"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Kakashi recited smoothly. The blonde spread his arms.

"Bury me."

Kakashi snorted. "Very well. Since you all have the nerve to question me, I'll reward that. I am Hatake Kakashi. In my spare time I really can't do anything interesting, since I always have a stack of papers to grade. I am single and not really looking. I am a virgin, and not looking to change that either. Don't listen to what anyone else tells you, being a virgin is cooler than being a slut, a whore, whatever. I have no brothers or sisters, my dad died when I was very young, and my mother disappeared shortly after. If I could, I would go back in time and erase my entire history. That would be lovely. I don't take questions, so-"

"What happened to your eye?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Uchiha, is it?" he asked slowly, running his eyes over the boy. "And your brother is in that gang…the one that slaughtered your entire family-"

"Maybe," Sasuke said sullenly. "Anyway, tell your side of the story-your eye."

Kakashi grinned. "Oh? You really want to know?"

Everyone in the classroom nodded, breath held as Kakashi reached up to brush away the hair.

"These bandages hide something never meant to be seen. I will never tell you that story, nor show you this eye, as long as I live."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to raise an eyebrow. "My, my, someone likes to keep secrets," he said slowly. "I'll tell me secret if you tell yours."

Kakashi sighed and shook his hair back. "It would violate the last wishes of a best friend…"

"Just show us then," the same red-head protested. "We won't ask any more questions!"

"Yes, you will."

"No, we won't-!"

"Hinata? Well, I suppose you can take her word," Sasuke said, smiling. "She's the most honest girl that ever walked the planet."

Kakashi sighed. "Very well." He reached up and slowly unwrapped the bandages covering the eye, keeping his head bowed as he did so. Everyone waited with bated breath: the third day, and already a secret like this being revealed? Kakashi lifted his head, the eye still closed, but now a long scar was visible across his left eye.

"Well, you asked for it."

The eye was piercing red.

Sasuke gasped and recoiled, staring at Kakashi's eye. "That's…that's…"

"Not a word, Sasuke," he threatened. "If you know, don't share it. I swear to you, I never meant for this to happen." He slowly replaced the bandages, staring at Sasuke the entire time. "If I did, you would know."

Sasuke swallowed hard. He could feel his entire past laughing and giving him the finger somewhere, and he could hear everyone asking if he was okay, and what was wrong, but he ignored them. He shook his head, still ignoring them, and retreating to his own mind.

_Does Itachi know?_

OOOOOOOOOO

As the bell rang for second period, Hidan let loose a terrible moan. P.E. was next, and unless he could find some way to pacify Tsunade, he was in for it…as was the rest of second period P.E.

"This _sucks!"_

Kakuza dumped his gym clothes onto the locker room bench and kicked off his shoes. This was going to be hell…

Hidan walked in, dumping his clothes next to Kakuza's and began changing as well. "Man, this sucks so much dick…"

"Care to illustrate your pains on a locker?"

Hidan shook his head. "Naw, somebody did that already…"

There was a snort of laughter from the next set of lockers, and Itachi walked out, fully changed and without socks.

"Dude…can't you feel the fungus growing between your toes?" Hidan muttered. Itachi shrugged.

"If there is any, I can't feel it."

Kakuza sighed. "It'll take money to get you to put on socks, won't it?"

Itachi nodded. "Hurry up, bitches!" he said impatiently. "Tsunade will kill us if we're late! Remember sophomore year, she actually came in and yelled at us?!"

Hidan nodded slowly and shuddered. "Jeez, I thought I was going to die…"

"Tell me later," Kakuza said. "If thou speaketh the truth…he must saveth our asses."

Itachi shook his head. "Get a life."

"Join play. Most of us are only in it so we can egg the school afterhours," Hidan said enthusiastically.

Kakuza grinned. "Make me an offer."

"An offer not to die, let's go!"

Hidan stood up; Kakuza pulled on his shirt. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Kakuza muttered, and left with his friends.

They could already hear Tsunade yelling.

OOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru sighed and sank down in his seat, running a hand through his dark hair. Third period…he considered going for a coffee. He could use the pick-up.

"Orochimaru?"

"I'm alive."

Jiraiya snorted and walked into the room, setting a foam cup on Orochimaru's desk. "In which case, wake up. Rise from the dead!"

"I don't want tooooooo," Orochimaru whined, leaning back. Jiraiya stared.

"You're worse than some of the kids here."

Orochimaru glared. "Rub it in, why don't you?!"

Jiraiya laughed and sat down at one of the desks. "Drink it," he said, motioning to the steaming cup of coffee. "It should make you feel at least human again, if not in a decent mood."

Orochimaru laughed. "Cheers to that, then," he said, taking a sip of the coffee. "Damn, that's strong…"

"Black," Jiraiya said. "Anywho…"

Orochimaru exhaled slowly. "I don't even smoke, and I feel like asking for one…"

"Because half the kids here are on it," he snorted. "And I should know."

Orochimaru sighed. "I bet you would."

OOOOOOOOO

"Okay, copy this vocabulary over, and know it for the test next Friday," Konan said, piling her books together. Third period French, freshman: it was all hell waiting to break loose.

"Um, excuse me?"

Konan glanced up. "What, Shino?"

"How is the test composed?"

"Multiple choice and matching," Konan said. "It's a quiz, really."

Shino nodded and scribbled something down in a notebook. Konan exhaled and straightened again. "So, that should be it! The bell will ring momentarily, so make sure you know what the homework is!"

Konan finished just before the bell, and students began running out of the room. She sat down at her desk, sighing. There was a stack of papers waiting for her to grade them-

But they could wait for the person in the doorway.

Konan grinned as she caught sight of Pein, standing up and totally forgetting about the papers. "Hey," she greeted, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. "Haven't seen you since the summer."

Pein grinned. "Well, you've seen me, it just hasn't been much," he said, sliding his arms around Konan's waist. Konan smiled, reached up, and kissed him, running her fingers through his spiky red hair.

"Come on, you've seen me more than that," she teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Come on, admit it!"

Pein smiled. "Okay, I love you to the ends of the earth, I can't live without you, all the high school drama."

Konan nodded. "That's better," she said. "Anyway…you have this period free?"

"Second through fifth, and seventh and eighth."

Konan nodded. "I have first, second, fourth through sixth, and eighth."

"Sweet."

Konan nodded again and sighed, laying her head against Pein's chest. "Shame we can't have more moments like these," she murmured. Pein smiled.

"We can."

"…I'd like that."

OOOOOOOOO

"Oi! Hyuuga!"

Neji turned around, grinning at his friend. "Yo, Kankuro. Back in black, I see?"

The Suna-native smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I went crazy this time around." He pointed to his face. "Check out dis shit, man."

Neji laughed. "You still gettin' shit about the paint?"

"Hellz yeah!" Kankuro whined. "I mean, every teacher in town is all up my ass, yelling at me to 'wipe that hideous makeup off!' So I told Tsunade I'd shave the ferret off my face when she shaved hers."

"Ouch," Neji muttered. "How many detentions?"

"A week's worth," Kankuro muttered. "Cuz it was straight to her face."

Neji laughed. "Yee-ouch. I'd be running if I were you."

"Oh, I ran!" Kankuro said. "Straight to Gaara! He said go to detention, but fall asleep. That pisses 'em off so much!"

Neji smiled. "Well, have fun with that."

"Starts on Monday," Kankuro said. "Wanna join me?"

"If the pants chains are any sign, sure, why not? I'll sneak in and bust you out."

Kankuro nodded. "Sweet, man. Now _that's _how we roll."

OOOOOOOOOO

Kabuto groaned and slammed his locker shut. Last period…and his detentions began.

"Yo."

Tayuya was leaning against his locker, two rulers in her hand. Kabuto glanced at them, then back at Tayuya. "What are those for?"

"To scrape gum."

Kabuto grinned. "A bit morbid, no?"

Tayuya shrugged. "You find gum most under the desks. So, since he told us to report to his room, I figured I may as well be prepared. I mean seriously, why should I scrape it with my nails? I need to save these babies for jocks."

Kabuto sighed and pulled a ruler out of her hand. "Thank you."

Tayuya grinned. "No prob."

**A/N: ****A little on the short side, but oh, well. Enjoy!!**


	5. Chapter 5

Kabuto trudged into Orochimaru's classroom, dumping his backpack next to a seat and sitting down. Orochimaru was leaning against the wall, head back, long hair all over his shoulders. His earrings dangled almost to his shoulders, and were clearly visible and blatantly against school code, as if mocking those who were forced to obey it. He barely glanced around as the students trickled in for detention, and he finally looked up when he realized everyone was there.

"Okay," he announced. "Since there is only one person in this classroom who wants to be here more than you, and that is me, I make the rules, you scrape the gum, clean the lockers, and listen to whatever anyone tells you to do. Yes, Kisame, I knew it was you who stuck the plastic eyeball to the ceiling of the bathroom on Halloween. Ichigo, I am well aware of the wad of toilet paper in the second stall in the downstairs bathroom. And Tayuya…well, frankly, I don't know what you did yet, but I'm sure it has to do with pain and testicles." Orochimaru straightened, shaking all of his hair over his shoulders. "So! two groups. Ryuu, Kenshin, and Tayuya-go with Tsunade and clean lockers. The rest of you stay here and scrape gum."

Tayuya sighed and pocketed her ruler, saving it for when Tsunade turned her back…and the gum on the inside of the lockers. Kabuto pulled out his, silently thanking Tayuya for being such a terrible person and serving more detentions than ever on school record. He ducked under the desk and began chipping at the edges of a wad of gum with a ruler. He could hear the swearing from the jocks, and a slow smile overcame his face.

The jocks really were as stupid as they were rumored.

OOOOOOOOO

Tayuya sighed and marched off with the rest of the guys, following Tsunade to the gym. The blonde looked somewhat sadistic: Tayuya was beginning to question the sanity of several of the teachers here. As Tsunade stopped them all in the middle of the gym, Tayuya could see sports equipment piled on the stage behind her.

"Alight, freshman!" Tsunade said loudly. "You see all that crap? Well, guess what? You get to clean it all! Yup, those jocks have been sweatin' like pigs in it all day for a week, and now it needs to smell like it was secreted by a human, not by a pig. So start cleaning!"

Tayuya sighed and whipped out a pair of rubber gloves and a surgical mask from her backpack. Leftovers from last year…she sighed through the mask and pulled on the rubber gloves, sighing again as she saw the disgusting sports gear. This was going to be one nasty detention…

OOOOOOOOO

"Ew…ew…ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!!"

Kabuto finally got the enormous wad of gum off the underside of the desk, dropping it into the trashcan he had stolen out from under the noses of the jocks. He was using a rubber glove he had snuck out of the lab earlier that day, at Tayuya's advice, to peel the gum off where he could, and the ruler to scrape it where necessary. He was considering writing a handbook for survival at Konoha High with Tayuya, and seriously publishing it as the school newspaper. He was considering bashing Orochimaru in it as well when the man walked over to him and sat down on top of the desk he was peeling gum off of. Glancing up, Kabuto glared. "Can I help you?"

"As a matter of fact, you can," Orochimaru said simply. "Throw something at Kisame's head."

"Why?"

"He's not doing anything."

Kabuto shrugged. "Vengeance enough for me." He picked up a freshly-scraped wad of gum and chucked it at the jock's head.

The gum hit square, and Kisame gave a shout of annoyance when he made his discovery. He turned around, staring down the two people at the other end of the room, and then glanced at Orochimaru.

"Who threw that?"

Orochimaru pointed to Kabuto.

Kabuto glared at Orochimaru-again. "Thanks, man," he muttered. "I can throw some at you, too."

"More detention," Orochimaru sing-songed, hopping off the desk. Kabuto snorted.

"Like I care at this point," he said. "And in addition to that, I would actually deserve it."

"Stop trying to make me feel guilty," Orochimaru said, feigning hurt. "It might actually work after a few years…"

"Sonuva-"

The bell rang just as Kabuto's swear came out.

Orochimaru found himself laughing near hysterically, finally straightening from his doubled-over position. "God, Kabuto, it seems you have a nasty side," he panted, still laughing a bit. "I never would have known…" He sighed and shook his head, wandering over to his desk and putting together several papers. "Go, dismissed," he sighed, shoving everything into a pile. The students filed out of the classroom, muttering abut the horrors they had witnessed. Orochimaru gave one last, lengthy sigh and picked up his belongings. He locked the classroom door and put the keys into his pocket. Life sucked at the moment…

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade sighed as the bell rang. "Alright, freshmen, dismissed!" she called. The students dropped the sports equipment like snakes and ran for the locker room, screaming and washing out their hands. Tayuya smirked, dropping the rubber gloves into the garbage can and removing her nose plug. Tsunade smirked as she passed.

"Came prepared, huh? Jeez, you're better than my seniors."

Tayuya grinned. "Yeah, I'm just good like that," she said, dropping the rest of her supplies into her backpack. "Anywho, see ya in hell, lady."

Tayuya shouldered her bag and walked out, noticing a dodgeball as she went. Grinning like a Chesere cat, she picked it up, waiting until Tsunade's back was turned to throw it and yell, "Think fast!"

The ball smacked Tsunade in the back of the head, and Tayuya ran for her life.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasori glanced around, looking for a certain blonde. The detention bell had just rang, and that was when Deidara had promised to meet him…

"Danna!!"

Deidara ran to Sasori, running right into the red-head and falling into his arms. "Missed you," he whispered, straightening and kissing him. Sasori smiled and stroked his blonde's hair out of his baby-blue eyes.

"Missed you, too," he replied, placing another kiss on Deidara's lips. They had met outside the school, on the way to the mall, and behind the math building. Sasori waited until Deidara had placed his arms around his neck to kiss him again, this time a bit harder and a little longer. Deidara raised his head, meeting Sasori and pushing against his lips with his tongue. Sasori opened his mouth, and Deidara charged in.

"A bit enthusiastic, no?" he whispered, kissing Deidara again. When they broke again, Deidara shook his head, never saying a word, just kissing Sasori deeper. Sasori smiled; Deidara was adorable.

The two never noticed the figure walking by as they made out behind the school.

OOOOOOOOO

_Oh, God, they're gay, _was the first thought that crossed Orochimaru's mind as he walked out of the school. Then he sighed and continued walking, his mind wandering away from himself and the entire world.

OOOOOOOOO

Kankuro waltzed down the street, his friends all in a group. They were heading down to the mall for lunch and a movie; it was Friday, and everyone wanted to relish it.

"Well, my friends," Kankuro started, tossing his arms over Neji's and Zaku's shoulders. "How's life, bitches?"

Zaku nodded. "Pretty sweet, man," he said slowly. "I haven't gotten detention yet, which is better than a couple senior jocks, a freshman with serious attitude, and a senior nerd."

"Kabuto?" Dosu questioned, catching up to the three. "Yeesh, poor kid-he's too soft for detention."

Neji snorted. "I know that kid," he said. "He's had Orochimaru for three years now, as well as a lot of other rough teachers. Not to mention he always gets pushed around. But he pushes right back: he's actually not that weak. He just doesn't want to start anything. Maybe he doesn't have self-confidence, maybe he doesn't want his parents givin' him shit, who knows. He can't…but he doesn't."

"Hm…" Kankuro nodded slowly after a time. "Kinda seems like that, doesn't he? Maybe it's the way he looks at you…" The ganster shivered. "He creeps me out a little."

Gaara grinned as he walked up to the group. "That kid Kabuto? I could take him out."

"Eh…" Kankuro shrugged. "To tell you the truth, little bro, I'm not sure…"

Gaara sighed. "Idiot."

"So, taken in any freshmen this year?" Kankuro said quickly, changing the subject. Neji nodded.

"Actually, I've officially 'adopted' a freshman named Hinata."

"Hinata? Hey, isn't she-?"

Neji nodded. "Yup, she's my cousin. Over the summer, I offered to show her the ropes. She kinda blushed and passed out, but in the end she aid yes."

Dosu snorted. "You're the only one," he said. "Ah, well, I'll get my freshman later."

"Do it fast," Kankuro advised. "They still get pissed when we cut them in the lunch line." He rolled his eyes. "Everybody grab a freshman, okay? They've gotta figure out that being a freshman is supposed to suck. Once you get to sophomore, then you can be a jerk to everyone under you."

"Doesn't amount to much," muttered Gaara. The rest of the gang laughed.

"Gaara, you're a jerk to just about everyone. No offense, or anything…"

"None taken. I'm an ass and proud of it."

"And better yet, you're fully aware of when you make an ass out of yourself," Zaku chimed in, "And that makes it a whole lot better…"

Gaara joined the rest of the group in laughter, and they all wound their way along the sidewalk to the mall. As they headed towards the food court, they could see faces everywhere that they recognized; it seemed everyone wanted to enjoy Friday.

"Pizza okay?" Neji asked, pulling out a wad of cash.

"Cool, man," Kankuro said. Everyone nodded, and Neji went to get pizza. The rest of the group found a table and crowded in, saving a seat for Neji. When Neji returned with the pizza, everyone grabbed a slice and paid Neji back.

"Good system here," Kankuro said through a mouthful of pizza. "But it would be cool if we could hold things up a little…"

"We'd get arrested," Dosu sneered. "The people here already hate the people from Konoha High, and the only reason we're still allowed here is because we bring business."

Zaku laughed and almost choked.

"Way to go." The group gave mocking applause, followed by laughter and more pizza being ripped to shreds.

"Okay, so, what movie do we want to see?" Zaku asked, glancing around the table.

"That comedy looked good," Gaara replied, swallowing. "What was it called…Daddy Day Camp?"

Kankuro nodded. "It looks like a terrible movie, but a funny one."

"Same here," Dosu said. "Eh, hell, we may as well."

"Works."

"Amen."

Gaara stood up and collected all the trash, tossing it all into the bin and sitting back down. "Okay, Zaku can garb the tickets, and Kankuro can get the snacks. We'll pay out the differences, and then see the movie."

"Works," Neji said again. "Alright, ready to go?"

The group rose and headed for the theater, a plan in mind.

OOOOOOOOO

Across the food court, Ino and her friends were having lunch. They were talking about boys, shopping, and cheerleading. Color guard came up several times, but these were major preps, and cheerleading was number one.

"Did you hear about that cute senior, Kabuto?" Ino whispered to Sakura. "I heard he got framed for a fight!"

"I heard he got nailed for something else," Tenten said. "Something about jocks and a girl…"

"Exactly," Ino said. "Some girl beat up a couple jocks because they were beating up Kabuto, and they all got caught by Orochimaru!"

"Really?!" Sakura gasped. "Orochimaru? I'm a freshman, and even I know, he's mean!"

"But he's a good teacher," Tenten said. "I had him sophomore year-he's rough, and he's mean, but he makes you earn your grade, and it feels really good when you earn it."

"Hm…"

The group lapsed into silence, each of the girls eating their salads quietly. Finally, Sakura piped up and said,"Where's everyone else?"

"Color guard," Ino said. "I know a lot of people in color guard…"

"I was thinking about trying out," Sakura said. "But I decided to do cheerleading instead."

Ino nodded. "So better. I mean, have you seen what they wear?!"

Tenten laughed. "Spandex!"

"And of course, you get to hang with the coolest crowd in school-the band geeks!"

The girls laughed, and finished up lunch. "Okay, ready for the movie?" Ino asked, piling the remains of lunch onto a tray. They had gotten food from Salad Works, and everyone had gotten something different. Sakura and Tenten stood up, and Ino took the trash to the bin. She met the others back at the table, grabbed her purse, and led the way to the theater.

**A/N: Something for everyone here!! Anyway, Salad Works is a restaurant by my house, a couple minutes away, and it's basically a salad place where you can get…everything under the sun on a salad. ****Meat, pasta, ****eggs, whatever.**** Even fish…really good. I think there's one in the mall, too, so…yeah…enjoy!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Kankuro sighed, stretching and standing up after the movie. "Nice one," he said. "Pointless and unoriginal, but it was hilarious."Neji nodded. "Good popcorn, too," he commented lightly, picking up the trash and throwing it all into a popcorn bucket. "So, where to next?"

"Well, me and my bro gotta head home," Kankuro said, swinging his arm over Gaara's shoulder. "So, I'll see everybody on Monday."

"See ya."

"Bye."

"Catch ya later."

The entire group dispersed, each member heading for someplace different: namely, a different parking lot where their parents were.

OOOOOOOOO

"C-O-L-T-S!! Colts, Colts, Colts!"

"Okay, break!"

Ino sighed and hopped down off the top of the pyramid, helping Sakura and Tenten down after her. "Okay, so I think we're still not getting the last part right," she said, switching both pompoms to one hand. Sakura shook her head.

"It's fine, Ino. Don't forget, the color guard is running back and forth, too, any tiny mistakes won't be noticed. Only the bigger ones."

Ino sighed. "I can't help it if I'm a perfectionist," she whined, smoothing her miniskirt. "And besides, the regionals are, like, _the _competition. We have to place!"

Tenten caught up with the two, grinning. "Okay, I think we've got this down!" she said. "So, everybody just do their best and win that enormous trophy!!"

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, yeah," she said. "You know, it's all about the guys!"

The girls giggled and headed back to practice.

OOOOOOOOO

"B-6! Hut, hut, hut!"

Kisame passed the football back to Ichigo, who, in return, threw it long to Ryuu. The football team had taken over the field from the cheerleaders and color guard, and the marching band had the field after that.

"Go long!"

Ryuu hurled the ball back to Ichigo, who was running down the field. Ichigo caught the ball as he ran into the end zone, performing a touchdown dance as he did so.

"Alright, time!"

Kisame sighed and pulled off his helmet at Yamamoto's call, shaking out his hair and flirting with several girls rolling up the color guard flags. The girls giggled and waved, then went back to the flags. As the jocks filed off the field, each and every one gave the girls a wink or a wave, and the girls giggled like schoolgirls and flirted right back. Once in the locker room, the football team all stripped off their equipment and took showers, walking through the locker room in towels and flipflops. Kisame pulled a tee shirt and shorts out of his locker, sighing as he changed.

"Yo, bitch."

Ichigo tossed Kisame the ball as Kisame shoved his feet into his sneakers. Kisame caught it one-handed and tied a haphazard knot in his laces.

"Hey," he greeted, standing up. "Ready to hit the road?"

"More than," Ichigo snorted. "Come on," he said, jerking his head towards the exit. Kisame gladly followed, tossing the ball back and forth as he went.

OOOOOOOOO

The next morning, Orochimaru collapsed at his desk, head on his folded arms. He pressed his forehead to his forearms, ignoring the entire world and the steaming cup of coffee next to him. Despite having drank down half of it black, he was still dead. Homecoming was next week…the end of the marking period was slightly after that…Kabuto said something about an extra credit assignment…

"Orochimaru-sensei?"

"Alive," Orochimaru grunted. "Not happy about it, but alive."

Kabuto smiled and walked in, carrying his backpack over one shoulder. "I got that assignment for the extra credit."

"Put it somewhere…I should be able to find it by midterms."

Kabuto smiled and poked the edge of the paper between Orochimaru's arms. "Wake up," he said, "Homeroom's going to be coming in soon…by the way, are the tests graded?"

"Why do you think I'm dead?"

Kabuto smiled. "At least look like you're alive," he said. "People are going to be saying you're on drugs."

"Mm."

Kabuto shook his head. "You're hopeless." He turned and walked out, shouldering his backpack again and heading off to find Tayuya. The girl was probably around somewhere…

"Kabuto!"

Kabuto turned around and saw his French teacher, Konan walking up to him. "Yes?" he asked, stopping.

"Do you know where Orochimaru is?" she asked. She sounded frustrated. "His is the only homeroom that hasn't sent down their homecoming nominees."

Kabuto nodded. "He's dead to the world, though," he said. "If you want, I could have the nominees to you by first bell."

Konan shook her head. "Just go to your locker, get your stuff, and go to homeroom," she said, pushing her hair back behind her ears. "I'll get it. I take it he's in his homeroom?"

Kabuto nodded, and went to his locker. He needed about six more books to get through first period alone…

OOOOOOOOO

Kin opened her locker and reached into her backpack for the magnets she had brought along with her. Decoration time!

Sticking the magnets to the door of her locker, Kin began clipping pictures to the magnets and putting a mini calendar in as well. She hung a mirror at eye level; it had a wire mesh border to hold earrings and other kinds of jewelry. Smiling, Kin grabbed her books for first period and closed her locker.

"Yo."

Kin looked up, smiling when she saw her friend. "Hey, Tayuya," she greeted, locking her locker. "How'd detention go?"

Tayuya snorted. "I came prepared for anything, so it wasn't that bad," she said. "But cleaning sports equipment is never pleasant, so…yeah…"

Kin nodded and shouldered her backpack. "Well, we'll see what happens…hey, seen Temari? She didn't meet up with us last night…"

Tayuya nodded. "Actually, I have," she replied. "She's running around with the Nara kid."

Kin smiled. "Ooooooooo, I smell love…"

Tayuya laughed. "Of course!" she said. "But there's always the matter of the gang…"

Kin knew what Tayuya was talking about. She, Tayuya, and Temari were all part of a gang code-named Gum Chewers. And gum wasn't the only thing they chewed up and spat out-many rival gangs had found themselves disbanded for lack of members, all either turncoats, runaways, or dead. Tsunade had founded the gang, and her word was law. Just like Orochimaru ran the Oto afterhours, Tsunade took care of Gum. Shikamaru and Temari had started going out last year, and they had tried to keep it low, as Shikamaru was a member of Kono. Kono and Gum were rivals; Oto was an ally.

Kin sighed. "Well, we'll see who knows what and how," she said, walking with Tayuya to her locker. "And then we can on that."

"Temari's pretty high up in the rankings, though," Tayuya said slowly. "She might get away with it, as long as no one higher in the food chain protests."

Kin nodded. "I might be able to pull a few strings…"

"Fair," Tayuya replied. "Alright, so, what's the main plan? I've got detention Tuesday, in other words, tomorrow, and Tsunade wants to meet up with us at the bridge. We need a bit of border markings, I hear."

"And you're our best artist…" Kin muttered. "And you get more detention if you don't show up for detention…well, just cut. At least you don't get shot at and chased off if you don't report to detention."

Tayuya grinned. "Cool. And by the way…" She reached into her locker, using her body to shield a can of spray paint that she pulled out. "It's the latest and the greatest," she said. "It's called Artist's Gold, and it's the best spray ever made. It even has sparkles!"

"Sweet!"

"Temari!"

Temari came bouncing over to the two, grinning madly. "Guess what?!" she said, almost squealing.

"What?" Tayuya gasped. If Temari was this hyper, it had to be good! Either that or she was drunk again…

_"Shikamaru and I are clear!"_

"Awesome!"

Kin grinned, swinging one arm over Temari's shoulder. "Aw, sweet deal," she said. "well, everybody's showing up tomorrow, right?"

"Signature artist," Temari said, pushing up her top, showing off her stomach. Around her navel was a spiraling design of vines and a red dragonfly at the top right. "Tell me that is not kick-ass?" she said enthusiastically, pulling her top back down.

"I like," Tayuya said, throwing books in her backpack. "So, I'll see everybody tomorrow, if not in the halls?"

"Yeah," Kin said, nodding. Temari did the same, heaving her backpack onto her shoulder.

"See ya there!"

Tayuya slammed her locker just as the warning bell rang.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke trudged to homeroom, not particularly caring about anything. Another day, another day…he couldn't tell the difference anymore. The world went by too quickly.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced up at the older male passing by him, glowering as he realized it was his brother. "What?" he growled, staring into his brother's eyes.

"Sasuke, you have Kakashi for English Lit, right?"

Sasuke slowly nodded.

"Watch your back around him."And Itachi walked away.

Puzzled by the words, Sasuke set off for homeroom again, thinking about what his brother had said. Watch his back? What was that supposed to mean? Was Kakashi dangerous? Was he in a gang? Lord help him, was he a _cop? _Sasuke shuddered. If the Hatake was against gangs, then Sasuke was in trouble…Itachi was too, but Sasuke didn't care about him. Shaking his head, Sasuke opened the door to homeroom, sitting down in his customary seat in the back. Everyone else was slowly trickling in, but Sasuke took no notice, taking out a piece of paper and a tiny pencil. He found himself drawing, and a crowd was soon clustered around him, gasping and pointing to what he had drawn. Sasuke didn't even know what he was drawing: his hand was just moving…when he looked down, Sasuke himself was in for a shock when he saw what he had drawn.

It was a perfect picture of Kakashi's eye.

OOOOOOOOOO

"What does it mean?"

"It's Kakashi's eye!"

"The one he keeps covered!"

"This kid knows what it is?"

"Maybe, I dunno!"

"My God, it's perfect!"

Sasuke heard slow footsteps approaching, and suddenly realized who was standing in front of him. His cheeks slightly colored, and he crumpled the paper and shoved it into his backpack. Kakashi sighed, held out his hand, and gestured for the paper. Sasuke handed it over, looking resigned. When Kakashi saw the drawing, his eyebrows rose.

"Well, you really do know what I'm talking about," he said smoothly, carefully folding the paper. "Did Itachi tell you abut that?"

Sasuke withheld a gasp. So _that _was what he meant!

"N-No," Sasuke stammered. "And what do you know about Itachi, anyway?!"

"Don't you get it?" Kakashi whispered. "Your clan, mine, Itachi-put it all together, Uchiha, and you'll see what I mean." He tossed the paper back to Sasuke, letting it land on his desk with a soft thump. "I'd keep that in a safe place if I were you," the Hatake said slowly. "Itachi might not like it if you start putting things together."

OOOOOOOOO

"One, two, three-!"

"Go!"

_Pssht!_

Sakon and Ukon grinned and the spitballs flew, hitting the chalkboard on either side of their homeroom teacher, Asuma. At first, the man didn't seem to notice. Then, he abruptly turned around and hurled two pieces of chalk, each at Sakon's and Ukon's foreheads. The chalk hit square, and the two boys groaned.

"That's it for you two," Asuma grouched. "Detention!"

Applause sounded from the rest of the homeroom, and Sakon and Ukon jumped up onto their desks and took goofy bows. Grinning as Asuma led them away, the rest of the class continued to applaud.

Asuma sighed. If this was what they were like early on, it would only get worse…he should get Orochimaru to sub one day. The man could whip the idiot freshman into line…

**A/N: Short, but oh well…sorry it's late, everybody enjoy and review, ****kay**


	7. Chapter 7

"Homecoming nominees. Now vote."

Ino accepted the ballots handed to her by her homeroom teacher and eagerly checked the box for Itachi as homecoming king and Mikoshi as his queen. Despite the girl actually being a Suna native, she was a prep and very involved in the school. She was the captain of the cheerleading team, and she was a nice girl as well. Well, to Ino, anyway. Preps would be preps, and they were mean to anyone who wasn't one of them.

Ino dropped her ballot into the small basket being passed around, and sat back, fixing her hair. If she was lucky, she would get a position on Homecoming Committee…

OOOOOOOOO

"Homecoming!"

"…whoo…?"

Tsunade smiled. "Who were the nominees from your homeroom?"

"That cup of coffee can spark the answer."

Tsunade smiled and set down a fresh cup of coffee next to Orochimaru's lifeless body. The next morning had come upon them; the Thursday before Homecoming. The winners of King and Queen were being announced Friday at the game.

Orochimaru picked up the cup and coffee and downed half of it at once.

When he finally slowed down and set down the cup, he seemed closer to alive than before. "Itachi, Kabuto, and Deidara for king. Matsuri and Mikoshi for queen."

Tsunade nodded. "I don't really have a homeroom, so…"

"Yeah, first period will be here soon, so you might want to go…" Orochimaru said, slowly standing up. "And I need to wake up…"

Tsunade smiled and slid off the desk she had been sitting on. "How many of them know they were nominated?"

"About half."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi wanted to bite something.

It didn't matter what, he just wanted to bite something in half. He slowly stood up, sighing, and began scribbling down the notes for today on the board for English Lit. Homecoming was coming up, so everyone was bound to be hyped…

As his first class began trickling in, Kakashi finished the notes and sat down again, brushing his hair out of his one eye and taking up his book again. He could see Sasuke walk in through his peripheral vision and silently sighed. The boy was too bitter-he needed to lighten up and accept what had happened, especially between him and Itachi. It was complicated, really, and Sasuke needed to accept it.

Kakashi sighed again, frustrated closing his book. This was going to be a long day…

OOOOOOOOOO

The final bell rang, and a yell of joy came from each respective classroom. It was Friday, and not just any Friday: this was Homecoming Friday. Students ran out of their classrooms, screaming and throwing books. Orochimaru sighed as he ducked a math book.

"You'd think it was June," he muttered, dodging a suspiciously yellow ball. Someone threw something else, and Orochimaru resigned himself to a rough trip through the hallways. Unless…nah, wasn't worth it. He wasn't going to waste the time and energy shoving people around. He sighed again and sat down at his desk, which was probably well out of the line of fire of the door, and opened a lab report. That was his hell: a pile of lab reports. May as well get started…

OOOOOOOOOO

Tayuya ran directly to her locker, grabbed several books, and ran off again. She had to get home and get ready for homecoming! The game was home field, and everyone was going straight to the school to set up for the dance the next night. Tayuya had volunteered to set up: she enjoyed swinging from the ceiling streamers and letting go of full balloons. They tended to make delightful farting noises and fly into people's faces when let go of…

"Tayuya!"

Kin ran up to her, messenger bag slung over her shoulder. "You decorating tonight?"

"Hells yeah!!" Tayuya said, slamming her locker. "Walk to the mall with me?"

"Sure!"

Tayuya grinned and turned. "Onward," she said. "To the land of pretzels and movies."

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi just barely made it to his car.

Sighing and shoving the key into the ignition, he threw his backpack into the passenger seat and waited for Sasuke. His younger brother came out of the school a minute later, dumping his backpack in the seat next to him and sitting in the back. Itachi wordlessly drove away, sighing as his brother glared.

"What now?"

Sasuke sighed and looked away. "You were saying…about Kakashi…"

Itachi said nothing; his jaw locked, and he suddenly looked angry. "Figure it out yourself," he muttered, "But don't let him know you know."

"Is he a cop, or something?" Sasuke finally asked, his curiosity overriding his fear of his brother's wrath. "What is with him?"

Itachi sighed. "You know how in science, Orochimaru lets you know all the science related to what you're studying that year?"

Sasuke nodded. The pit forming in his gut told him this wasn't going to end well…

"You aren't studying biology or anatomy, but science lately has been trying to transplant eyes. It's the single hardest organ in the body to transplant, so science has been going nuts trying to find a way to do it. Orochimaru kept us updated on it for a while, and for about a year and a half no one had any luck.

"Then came Kakashi.

"My cousin, Uchiha Obito, had cancer and was going to die very soon. His best friend was Kakashi, despite being several years older than him. Kakashi had just been in a car accident and lost his left eye. Obito knew he was going to die within the hour, so, as a last gift, he gave his eye to Kakashi. Kakashi was out of school for so long, coping with the grief and the eye…he was the first successful transplant. But, something went wrong. The eye still worked, but at inhuman speeds. It pains him to use it, but sometimes he does. The eye turned red, and no one knows why. Kakashi only uses that eye when he's fighting off kids from gangs. You're right, Sasuke, he is a cop. And he's after me bad."

Sasuke's eyes had been steadily widening the entire time Itachi had been speaking. Now, he could only sit there and stare as Itachi parked the car in the garage and stepped out, shouldering his backpack.

"Coming?"

Sasuke nodded, snapping out of his daydream and climbing out of the car. He picked up his backpack, walking slowly behind Itachi as the Uchiha unlocked the house, shut off the alarm, and locked it behind them both.

"You and he are the only ones who know what really happened that night."

OOOOOOOOO

"Temari, you're failing gym."

"Fuck."

"And now you're failing conduct."

"Fuck again."

"And now you just fail at life."

"F-U-C-K."

Temari had banged into Tsunade on her way out of school, and gang member was currently milking her status for all it was worth.

"How do I fail gym?" Temari finally asked, putting a sticker on a random locker.

"I'm just messin'," Tsunade said airily. "Anyway, meeting tonight after the game. Spread that around."

Temari nodded. "Will do. Gracias."

The Suna native swept out of the school, heading for the mall. If she was lucky, she could catch up with Tayuya and Kin…

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto walked down to the mall, heading for Hot Topic. He knew Tayuya was going there to pick up some fishnet, and in all honesty, he wanted to see her. He also wanted lunch.

At the mall, Kabuto headed straight to Hot Topic. The second he walked in, he was greeted with deafening music, fishnet to supply the world, and a certain red-head.

"Hey!"

Tayuya saw him first and walked over. "What's up?" she asked, almost screaming over the music.

"Looking for you!" Kabuto said. "Are you coming to the game tonight?"

"Hell yeah!" Tayuya replied, grinning. Kabuto gave her a soft smile in return.

"Cool. I'll see you there!" He turned and started to walk out, only to be caught by Tayuya.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"To get some lunch," Kabuto said, "Wanna come?"

"Sure! Two seconds, I gotta pay for this…"

Kabuto nodded and stood by the door, waiting for Tayuya. She came out a minute later, a small bag swinging from her hand. As the two walked out of the store, Tayuya found her hand sneaking towards Kabuto's.

Kabuto took her hand in his.

The two blushed and looked away, but neither let go of the other. Kabuto was the first one to speak, and when he did, he was quiet and hesitant.

"So…are you…I mean, will you…would you want to go to homecoming with me? Like, as a date…"

Tayuya's blush increased even more, and she smiled a bit. "Sure," she said, smiling a little more. "I-I'd love to…"

"So, we're actually going out now…"

"It's official…"

Kabuto nodded, and Tayuya found herself leaning towards the senior. Kabuto let her lean on him, red hair resting on his shoulder. The two walked like this until they go to the food court, where Kabuto got some lunch and Tayuya found a table. Kabuto sat down across from her, handing her a smoothie.

"Two straws?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I thought we could share. I wasn't sure if you had eaten or not, so…"

Tayuya smiled. "Thanks," she said softly, taking a sip. "Man, you have good taste," she said, "Strawberry banana…"

"Good, huh?" Kabuto said, and started eating his lunch: a piece of pizza. "The smoothie place here is really good."

Tayuya nodded. "Yeah, I go there all the time. My favorite is strawberry banana. Not many places can pull it off this well."

Kabuto nodded. "I've seen a lot of strawberry banana in my life, but this beats all," he said, taking a drink from the plastic cup. "It's good stuff…"

Tayuya nodded, and the two sat in silence for a moment. Kabuto finished eating and threw away the trash.

"So, what are you wearing for homecoming tomorrow?" he asked, sitting down again.

"This top," Tayuya started, motioning to the bag at her feet, "With a black dress. It's got a shimmery over skirt over a black silk dress. Spaghetti straps, and it goes down to my ankles."

Kabuto nodded. "Sounds nice. How are you doing your hair?"

"Up in a ponytail, and then curling it up around the ponytail. I'll have some hanging down around my face, too."

"Cool. I've just got the typical dress shirt and pants."

"Are you going to wear your hair like that?" Tayuya asked, motioning to Kabuto's ponytail. Kabuto nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just going to comb it out and wear it back like this."

Tayuya nodded, and the two fell silent again.

"Well, um…I guess I'll see you at the game," Tayuya said slowly. "Sorry, I gotta head home now…my mom's picking me up."

Kabuto nodded and stood up. "I'll walk you to the entrance. I'm driving myself home."

"Cool."

The two found their hands together as they walked again.

OOOOOOOOO

Shikamaru walked into the stadium, Temari right next to him. The two handed over their tickets and found seats next to each other.

"This is going to be a great game," Shikamaru said. "Both teams are undefeated."

"Well, let's hope that the Raiders are the ones defeated after this!" Temari said. "I don't care if they're from Suna! I'm rooting for the Colts!!"

"Someone had sugar," Shikamaru commented, grinning. Temari nodded.

"Yeah, just a few pounds…"Shikamaru sighed. "Just make sure you eat some real food by the end of the day?"

Temari snorted with laughter. "Yeah, that'll happen!"

Shikamaru sighed, but a smile was on his face. "Good luck."

Temari crossed her legs, groaning as the cheerleaders ran onto the field. "Eeeeew, preps!"

"Take a deep breath, Temari," Shikamaru said. "We can get through this."

Temari sighed. "Yicky preps…"

The cheerleaders had the field for five minutes, and finally the football team surged onto the field, ripping through an enormous banner. The entire stadium was suddenly on their feet, screaming and clapping.

"Why are we getting so worked up about jocks?" Temari asked, jumping up and down.

"No idea."

Temari laughed and sat down, and the game began.

**A/N: I had the worst writer's block ever on this. If anyone has ideas or something they would like to see, please, let me know…**


	8. Chapter 8

Tayuya pinned up her hair, letting the curls fall across her shoulders. She gently fluffed it up a bit, then, satisfied, pulled out a tray of makeup. She swept the eyeliner underneath her eye in a very thin line, just to accent her eyes, and then coated her upper eyelid with eye shadow. She then brushed a bit of sparkle powder over her face and stood back, checking her appearance in the mirror. Perfect.

Tayuya picked up her high heels and pulled them on, then checked her appearance again. Still perfect. She smiled with satisfaction and exited her room, pulling a sheer wrap across her shoulders as she left. She rather liked her outfit, and was proud of herself for dressing up so much, especially just for homecoming. She climbed into her car and her dad drove her to the school, dropping her off at the doors to the gym, where the dance was being held. Tayuya took a deep breath and pushed open the doors.

The gym had been entirely transformed. Streamers and lights hung from every surface, and music pounded more loudly than anything Tayuya had ever heard, not even the football game the night before. Banners were stuck firmly to the walls, celebrating the victory the previous night. Tayuya gave a small smile as she walked through the door. She noticed many people staring and glanced around nervously, looking for someone she knew. An appreciative whistle came from behind.

"Nice, Tayuya."

Tayuya immediately blushed, recognizing the voice even before she turned around. "Kabuto!" she exclaimed, hair whipping around her face as she spun around. "Hey, you look great!" Kabuto smiled and stepped up to her.

"So do you," he said, tracing down her side. "This dress really flatters you…"

Tayuya blushed harder and ducked her head. "Thanks…" she murmured. She stole another glance at Kabuto, who was dressed exactly as he had said: a light blue dress shirt and pants. The shirt was halfway open, revealing a smooth chest and firm shoulders. Tayuya found herself wanting to kiss him all over again. As it was, her hand crept into Kabuto's, and the two walked over to the dance portion of the floor.

"So, how are you?" Kabuto asked, taking Tayuya's other hand in his and turning to face her. The DJ had just put on a slow song, and Kabuto wanted to take advantage of it.

"Good," Tayuya replied, looping her hands around his neck. The two began moving back and forth across the floor, smack in the middle. The two hardly noticed that the other couples had stopped dancing to watch them. "You?"

"Not bad…" Kabuto said slowly. He glanced around, staring at the rest of the people. "Not to make you nervous or anything," he said conversationally, "But everyone's staring."

Tayuya promptly blushed and looked around, taking in the scene. "What, are we really that cute together?" she asked, trying to joke about the situation. Several people gave her nods of affirmation, and she tried to laugh. "Well, then…"

Kabuto smiled. "So we can make it official…official…" He leaned down…

And kissed her.

OOOOOOOOOO

Ino's jaw dropped as she saw Tayuya kissing Kabuto-or the other way around. Seriously, who was kissing who?! Sakura's mouth was also hanging open, as were many other people's.

"Oh…my…God…"

Ino nodded wordlessly, her mouth closing a bit. "Jeez, a senior?! That's special…"

Tenten whistled in awe. "How often do you see that?" she asked, fixing her short dress. "Like you said, Ino, that's special…"

Sakura suddenly smiled. "Sasuke alert, four o'clock!"

"You go," Ino said, "I'm getting stuff for Myspace!"

Sakura immediately darted after Sasuke, Tenten and Ino remaining behind to tape the couple dancing. Sakura stopped next to Sasuke to watch Tayuya and Kabuto.

"Sasuke!" she said sweetly, smiling at the Uchiha. "How are you?" she continued, stepping closer. Sasuke stepped away, glaring at Sakura.

"Ew, fangirls," he muttered. "Go someplace else, okay? Not interested."

"But…Sasuke…"

"Shoo."

Sakura returned to her friends empty-handed.

Ino glanced at her. "No luck, huh?"

Sakura shook her head. "Personally, I think he's jealous. He wants Tayuya!"

Tenten gave a snort of laughter. "No way, Sakura! He wants to be alone. He's going through a very hard time right now, and he needs someone to be there for him, but only when he wants someone."

Ino shook her free hand at the two. "Would you shut up?! You're ruining the audio!"

OOOOOOOOOO

Tayuya didn't know how long she and Kabuto danced. It could have been seconds; it could have been days. All she knew was Kabuto, and the soft music around them. She knew only that she had ended the dance on a different song than when she had started. Finally, she and Kabuto stepped away from each other, smiling and almost dizzy with the thrill of dancing for so long.

Applause shattered the room.

Tayuya suddenly looked around, at the crowd gathered, and everyone clapping for one reason or another, and blushed. Kabuto took her hand and walked away, as if nothing had ever happened. "So, why are they clapping?" she said under her breath. Kabuto's face suddenly split in a wide grin.

"Missed it, huh?" he asked, "Well, they announced Homecoming King and Queen while you were zonked."

"Really?" Tayuya asked, "Who are they?"

Kabuto shook his head. "You must have been really out of it," he said with a grin. "It's us."

OOOOOOOOOO

Tayuya walked out of the dance ecstatic.

She almost began dancing around in the middle of the parking lot, but just restrained herself. Kabuto was walking her to her car, and the two were still holding hands.

Kabuto stopped by Tayuya's car. "Well…good night," he finally said, sharing a small good-bye kiss. "I'll see you at school on Monday, then?"

Tayuya nodded and stepped back. "Well…see ya…"

Kabuto nodded and walked to his own car. Tayuya sat down in the passenger seat, closed the door-

And promptly squealed.

Her dad immediately shushed her, sighing with annoyance. "What happened to make you so hyper?" he asked. "Don't tell me you drank soda and/or ate cookies?"

Tayuya shook her head. _"I'm homecoming queen and I'm dating a senior!"_

Tayuya's dad put his hands over his ears and waited for Tayuya to finish.

When the girl had finally quieted down a bit, her dad smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you, sweetheart," he asked, kissing her forehead. "But aren't you a little young-?"

"Three year difference," Tayuya said. "No."

Her dad sighed and started the car. "Okay," he said. "But I want to meet him-"

"Yeah, I know, I know," Tayuya said. Her father's words barely registered she was so happy. But the words still stuck, and the high of homecoming had yet to wear off when Tayuya got home. She showered and brushed her teeth in a fog, and went to bed in the same fog. When she woke up Saturday morning, she was back to her normal self. But the thrill was still there, in the back of her mind, waiting to be called out again.

Like when those chocolate chip pancakes waiting for Tayuya downstairs went down her throat.

OOOOOOOOO

"Everybody, welcome back. I understand that while everyone's minds are still elsewhere, it is not an excuse for causing trouble. Therefore, I will only expect the usuals in my office today. That is all."

Kin and her group of friends snickered with laughter. "Yeah, like that'll help!" Temari said, laughing. "Anyway…old man Sandaime came to Homecoming, huh?"

"Just the game," Tayuya said. "He didn't bother with the dance…"

"Good."

Kin smiled and walked between Tayuya and Temari, one arm slung over each of he friends' shoulders. "So, how was everyone's weekend?"

"Great," Temari said. "Shikamaru and I saw a movie."

"Mine was cool," Tayuya said. "I managed to contain my ecstasy at last…"

"Same," Kin said. "I just hung around, basically."

Temari and Tayuya nodded, and Tayuya stopped at her locker. "It's insane," she said. "We've only known each other for a month or two and already we're dating…I can't help but wonder if this was meant to be."

"It is," Kin said firmly, leaning against a locker. "I mean, you both ended up Homecoming Royalty! If that's not a sign from God, I don't know what is!"

"Yeah, you're right." Tayuya slammed her locker, swinging her backpack onto her shoulder again. "Okay, so where are you going?"

"Homeroom, I guess," Kin said. "I have nothing better to do…"

"Meeting Shikamaru," Temari said.

"Meeting Kabuto."

Kin headed for her homeroom, and Temari and Tayuya each went for their assigned meeting places.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Start listing muscles from the top down. Go as far as you can, then say pass. Kabuto, start."

First period anatomy had gone very well for Kabuto so far; he and Tayuya had made out at his locker and then gone to homeroom, and the first period. Kabuto had gotten back two tests, both with neat 100's written across the top in Orochimaru's perfect handwriting. His homework had also gotten him extra credit since he was one of the only five to do it, and so far, he felt very confident in his pop quiz. Kabuto began listing the muscles he had memorized from the head down, getting to the ankles before forgetting one. Orochimaru seemed impressed that he had gotten so far, and said so. Kabuto nodded, and Orochimaru moved on. It took three people to finish off the list, and then Orochimaru tossed a piece of chalk at a kid in the back who wasn't paying attention. It hit him square, and everyone else stuffed down laughter. The kid, whose name was Ryuu, actually dared to throw the chalk back, and Orochimaru only hurled it at him again. This time the chalk broke on impact, and Ryuu got Orochimaru's message loud and clear. Sighing, Orochimaru moved on.

"Who wants to tell me which is the thickest bone in the body?"

OOOOOOOOOO

"The Muslims had held the Holy Land for a number of years, and only the First Crusade was able to get it back. Someone tell me where the other four went awry?"

Naruto hesitantly raised his hand. Pein considered this a rare occurrence and almost applauded the blonde.

"Uh…well, in the third one, the three dudes went down…and the first one drowned…and the other one hated the third one…she he left…and then the third dude tried to take the city…town…thing…back…and he couldn't…so he makes a deal…?"

Pein sighed. "It's close enough. Someone want to give me a more detailed explanation then Mr. Uzumaki?"

Sakura's hand shot up, but no one else's did. Pein resorted to Sakura and the girl promptly launched into a long, detailed description of the Second, Third, and Fourth Crusades. Pein nodded when she was done.

"Very good, Sakura. Anyone know anything about the Children's Crusades?" Pein looked around the classroom, looking for someone who looked zoned out. "How about you, Jiroubou?"

The plump male glanced up from his doodles, staring blankly at Pein. "Um…false?"

The rest of the class laughed, and Pein sighed. "What do know about the Children's Crusade?"

"Uh…little kids joined the army?"

The class laughed again, and Pein felt the near-irresistible urge to slam his head into the wall, fall to his knees, and ask Jiroubou where he had gone wrong as a teacher, instead, he put his face in his hands, groaned with annoyance, and slid his fingers back through his hair. "Jiroubou…" he said slowly. "Have you paid attention or took notes since the first day?"

Jiroubou shrugged. "Don't think so."

Pein sighed. "Shape up, or you fail. Kiba, care to tell us about the Children's Crusade?"

OOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi exhaled slowly as he leaned back against the board, powder-gray hair falling to either side of his face. "Well, today is kind of an awkward day, since we're all still fired up from Homecoming…so, I've decided to have us offload our desperate news instead of texting it through your clothes. You get fifteen minutes, raise your hand, and…go. Tayuya, our queen."

_"I'm homecoming queen and dating a senior!!"_

Kakashi smiled. "Little louder, I don't think they heard you down the hall. Good for you, though. Okay, Ino."

"I got best dressed!"

"Nice job. Okay, Chouji?"

"I broke my all-time cookie record! And then puked…"

Kakashi smiled. "Good job, genius. Um…Hinata?"

"Um…I-I got asked out…"

Kakashi nodded. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"U-Uzumaki N-Naruto…"

"Nice. Well, split an ice cream. Oh, let's see…who looks desperate…okay, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared. "My hand wasn't even up."

"Answer anyway."

Sasuke shrugged. "I dunno…watched Scary Movie Three?"

"Good enough. Sakura?"

"Well, I went to the dance, and then my friends and I had a sleepover, and then we went to the mall."

Kakashi nodded and continued. No one noticed that much more time than fifteen minutes had gone by.

**A/N: So sorry for the late update!! TT My ****compy**** won't load the new login, so I'm uploading my documents through a proxy site and using another computer to update my stories! I'm so sorry, everyone!!**


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi glanced up at the clock a second before the bell rang.

"Wow, you guys really got me sidetracked there," he commented. "Well, whatever. Everyone enjoy the rest of the day."

Everyone murmured a response as they passed Kakashi on their way out, and Kakashi pushed off the board, walking back over to his desk and gathering his papers. Sighing, he threw them all together in one messy pile and decided to simply shove it all in one place and get it out of here. By now, most of the students had left, and the hallways were near-empty. Kakashi sighed with relief; last Friday, he had seen dodgeballs and pencil cases alike being thrown, and people were going absolutely crazy. Most teachers had opted to stay in their classrooms, along with the "nerds," and the true geniuses threw things from inside the classroom, ducking back around the wall when stuff came flying back their way. Kakashi's classroom was a popular sanctuary; everyone knew he wouldn't chew them out even if they threw something at him.

"Heads up!"

Kakashi barely dodged a yellow ball flying by, and glanced up at see Tsunade standing in the doorway, holding a few more balls. "Heh, couldn't resist," she said with a grin. "Toss the rock?" Kakashi obliged, throwing the ball back to Tsunade. The blonde woman caught it with one hand, nodding her thanks to Kakashi and leaving. Kakashi stepped cautiously out into the hallways behind her, making his way out of the school.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasori met Deidara by his locker, surprising the blonde by putting his arms on either side of Deidara's shoulders and whispering in his ear, "Boo." Deidara started and whipped around, only to see that it was Sasori and give him a soft smile. Sasori smiled in return and gave his blonde a soft kiss on the lips, then stood back to let him gather his things from his locker.

"So, how's it been going for ya?" he asked, leaning against the next locker from Deidara's. The blonde shrugged.

"Pretty good," he started. "Same old, same old. But anyway, are you going out for play?"

"Of course!" Sasori said enthusiastically. "Romeo and Juliet, right?"

Deidara nodded. "I'm going out for a small role," he said. "Nothing too fancy. I hear that one senior, Kabuto-the one who's dating a freshman-I hear they're going out for Romeo and Juliet!"

"Sweet," Sasori said. "So, yeah, I'm going out for a fairly small role, too…small, but not like, an extra. Couple lines is good…"

Deidara nodded again and slammed his locker. "Same. So, anybody else you know?"

"Load of band geeks, color guard, and cheerleaders," Sasori replied, walking with Deidara to their bus. "The likes of them. Seems they want something to do in the off season." He smiled. "A lot of them, too. Did I mention that?"

"Might have," Deidara said with a grin, boarding the bus and choosing a seat in the far back. "Anyway, anybody you really know?"

"A couple more seniors-the gang Akatsuki has a lot of people going out, us included. I hear Itachi is also going out for Romeo."

Deidara sighed. "If I wasn't with you, I'd be gay for him," the blonde said wistfully. "I can just picture him in tights…"

He said it with such a straight face that Sasori burst out laughing, Deidara soon after. "Well, he is hot, the blonde contributed, "You have to admit, he is pretty hot."

"Who would be his Juliet?" Sasori mused. "It would have to be someone damn attractive…"

"What about that junior, Kin?" Deidara asked. "She's kind of cute…"

"There's a girl in his year, a senior…her name is Shizune. Straight A student, concert band, in all AP and Honors classes…know her?"

Deidara nodded slowly. "Short black hair, black eyes, kinda…flat?"

"Yeah, her," Sasori confirmed. "They'd make a cute couple…"

"Or I could go for it," Deidara said, reaching around the back of his head to fluff up his ponytail. "The hair is quite convincing, as we saw with Halloween…"

Sasori snorted in laughter. Who could forget, two years ago, the Halloween where Deidara cross-dressed? He had gotten some nice candy for it, to! Sandaime, in good humor, had asked Deidara if his sanity was tangled in his hair somewhere, then gave the kind a piece of candy for the look. Several of Deidara's teachers were wondering about him by the end of the day, and Sasori had told Deidara afterwards what a mistake it was to wear his costume to school. Deidara had shrugged it off, and he and Sasori went trick-or-treating later.

"Good times, good times," Sasori said slowly. He scooted over into Deidara's seat, pushing the blonde up against the side of the bus.

"Wanna make out?"

OOOOOOOOO

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"That's good; very good. Alright, next!"

Tayuya walked off the stage, satisfied with herself, and sat backstage through several more auditions for Juliet. Then came the Romeos: Tayuya was surprised to see both Kabuto and Itachi back-to-back, and several others that she knew, like Neji and Shikamaru, after them. Tayuya waited backstage with Kabuto, playing games and texting on her phone, for hours through auditions, and finally the auditions were over.

"List will be posted on the bulletin board in the entrance to the theater tomorrow," Konan said, standing up. Kakashi and Kurenai rose with her; all three teachers directed the play. "Check first thing in the morning, because the first practice is tomorrow afternoon. We'll hand out scripts and rehearse a bit to get a feel for our characters. Everybody got that?"

There was a collective "yes" from the group, and everyone began filing out of the theater. Tayuya gave a sigh of relief.

"I am so nervous," she said. "I can't wait to see what part I get!"

"Well, we won't know until tomorrow, so we may as well stop stressing," Kabuto said. "So, I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"At the bulletin board."

Tayuya gave Kabuto a parting kiss, and each went their separate ways.

OOOOOOOOO

"I got Lady Capulet!"

"I got Benvolio!"

"I got Lord Montague!"

"I got Lady Montague!"

"I got Mercutio!"

Tayuya could hear the excited cries of the cast and crew for the play and elbowed her way through to the bulletin board where the cast list was posted.

**Romeo……………………….Kabuto**

**Juliet…………………………Tayuya**

**Lady Capulet……………….Temari**

**Lord Capulet………………..Shikamaru**

**Lady Montague…………….Kin**

**Lord Montague……………..Neji**

**Benvolio………………………****Deidara**

**Mercutio………………………****Kisame**

**The Nurse…………………….Shizune**

**Friar Lawrence………………****Shino**

**Friar John……………………..Chouji**

**Tybolt………………………….****Sasuke**

**Paris……………………………Hidan**

**Prince Escalus………………..Kiba**

**Balthasar……………………..Sasori**

**Samson………………………..****Sakon**

**Gregory………………………..****Ukon**

**Abram………………………….****Zetsu**

**Peter…………………………..****Tobi**

**The Apothecary……………..Itachi**

**Rosaline………………………****Ino**

**The Chorus……………………****Zaku**

**Crew:**

**-lighting:**

**Deidara**

**Sasori**

**-costumes:**

**Sakura**

**Tenten**

**Hinata**

**-makeup:**

**Ino**

**Sakura**

**Tenten**

**-scenery:**

**Gaara**

**Kankuro**

**Shikamaru**

**Shizune**

**-props**

**Hinata**

**Kakuza**

**Hidan**

**Tenten**

_"I made Juliet!!"_

Tayuya's excited scream broke through the excited whispers running back and forth through the crowds, and everyone started congratulating her immediately. Tayuya vaguely registered Kabuto pushing through the crowds, seeing he had Romeo, and letting out a hiss of approval. Tayuya promptly tackled him around the neck with a squeal of joy, causing both to fall over backwards. Kabuto laughed as Tayuya barreled into him, and the two landed on the floor.

"Kiss scene!" Tayuya exclaimed, seemingly hyper beyond anyone's imagination.

Kabuto smiled. "Wasn't that real life?"

"…yeah, but…now everyone in the world can see it!"

Kabuto sighed. "Well, even if it is acting, whatever. It'll look cute."

Tayuya nodded. "That's right. And since it's November, those heavy costumes won't kill!"

"And tights…" Kabuto shuddered. "The sole reason I was considering skipping play this year. I mean seriously, I'm not gay!"

Tayuya grinned. "Sure about that?"

"Positive," Kabuto said dryly. "Anyway…we should probably get to class."

Tayuya nodded and stood up. "I'll see you later…"

Both headed in their separate directions.

OOOOOOOOOOO

After school, everyone was lounging around in the theater, sitting on the stage, rehearsing with each other, and texting. Kabuto and Tayuya were behind the curtain, making out, until a shout from the far end of the theater brought them out of hiding.

"Alright, rehearsal begins now!" Konan called out. "We'll start with the balcony scene so we can get a sense of the relationship between Romeo and Juliet! Then we'll cut to the first scene so we can get a sense of the conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues!"

Kabuto and Tayuya came to sit on the edge of the stage, next to Shikamaru. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he saw the lazy genius actually attending rehearsal. "Shikamaru, I didn't know you had that much of an interest in Shakespeare."

"I don't," Shikamaru said frankly. "My mom said it was either this or learning to play some sort of instrument. She was insinuating oboe for marching band, so I went with play."Kakashi sighed. "On the bright side, you get points for honesty. Anyway, just stand in front of each other and recite lines. Romeo and Juliet, front and center! Start when you're ready!"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Hey, it's getting close to Christmas-who are you getting stuff for?" Sakon whispered, elbowing Ukon. The twins' scene had passed, and they were sitting behind the curtain, bored.

"Definitely all my friends," the silver-haired teen replied. "And you…and mom and dad…grandma, in case she hasn't forgiven me for putting butter on the bottom of her cane…grandpa, to make sure he doesn't turn that rifle in the basement against me…"

"Dude, they live in the middle of the wilderness-they kind of need a rifle!"

"Still…" Ukon shuddered. "Anyway, I'm thinking of getting something for that cute junior, Kin…I want to go out with her!"

"Rumor is she's looking at someone else," Sakon informed his brother. "The kid Dosu…the one who's in our math class."

"Aw man!" Ukon sighed. "Well, never hurts to try. I'm going to anyway. Just something small, just to show her how I feel…"

Sakon shook his head. "You are so gonna get beat up…"

Ukon shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. At least I'll have a girlfriend."

"No good if you're dead."

Ukon shrugged again. "Well, like I said: never hurts to try. And she doesn't need to know who it's from. I'll just see what her reaction is and we'll go from there."

Sakon seemed to think for a moment, then finally said, "Sounds like a good plan, actually. So, you going to the mall?"

"Soon. And everyone else in Oto is coming too."

"Nice…"

"Ooooooooo, crap! We're up!"

OOOOOOOOOO

After rehearsal, Ino packed up her things and went to her locker to dump the homework she had done when she was off stage. She slammed her locker closed, locked it, and headed to the entrance to the school. She and her friends were going to the mall after play, seeing a movie, and then getting picked up at the mall by their parents. Sakura joined her shortly afterwards, and Tenten found them a minute after that.

"Ready to go?" Ino asked, putting on her coat and shouldering her backpack. Sakura and Tenten did the same, nodding as they did. Ino pushed open the door to the school, and the group headed over to the mall. As they walked, snow began to fall, gently at first, and then in a steady stream. Ino grinned and tipped her head back, opening her mouth.

"Do you seriously expect to catch snow in your mouth?" Sakura asked. Ino nodded and promptly coughed.

"Fell right down the back."

"Good job," Tenten said with a grin. "Well, let's go to the theater entrance, and that'll put us by the food court…"

"And from there, we can grab something to eat, early dinner, and then we'll go shopping!"

"Works for me," Sakura said. "First Aeropostale?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, let's go already!"

**A/N: Preps kill… . I'm a Goth, so that wasn't exactly fun and joy. Well, I tried. Review, please!!**


	10. Chapter 10

Kabuto sat impatiently in class. It was almost the end of the day, and he was looking forward to play practice…seventh period was going far too slowly. On the bright side, his eighth period class wasn't bad-English Lit. Kakashi was an entertaining teacher to say the least, and he taught a class in every year. He only taught one senior class, though, and four freshman classes, so Kabuto had been praying all summer. When he finally got his schedule, he had practically fallen on his knees and thanked God in heaven-or whatever God you believed in, if you were Hidan. Kabuto jolted awake as the bell rang-and he wasn't even asleep! Sighing, the teen gathered his books and trudged out of Calculus, hoping he could just get to English Lit. If the class was lucky, they could get Kakashi sidetracked a bit…

"Kabuto, a word?"

Kabuto sighed and turned around, eyes seeking an answer from Iruka, his Calculus teacher. He paced over to the man's desk, stopping a few feet away before he considered himself close enough.

"Yes?"

"Kabuto, I know you're brilliant," Iruka started slowly. Kabuto sighed. He had heard this before…

"And I know you've probably gotten this offer before…"

Yeah, keep going, it's not like it's new…"such-and-such a college…"

"The University of Otogakure has extended an offer to you on a full scholarship as a math major."

Kabuto nodded. "I got that in science, French, history, and even in sophomore year for woodshop…"

Iruka glanced up at Kabuto. "Wow," he said. "You got an offer on an elective?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yeah, I got multiple offers in science, and several in French. Two in history, and one in woodshop. It's an elective; I didn't even know you _could_ get scholarships for that!"

Iruka shrugged. "Something new every day. I'd think about this one hard, though; Oto is very competitive."

Kabuto sighed. "If only you knew…hey, can I get a late pass?"

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto gave a sigh of relief as the last bell rang. Class was relatively good today, but it was still class. He headed towards his locker, wondering what else would make his day.

Apparently, Tayuya banging on her locker with a hammer.

She turned around and gave him a bright smile, a "Hi!" and then promptly resumed hammering at her locker.

Kabuto sighed. "Why?"

"My locker won't open!" Tayuya groaned. "I got the lock off, but the damn thing jammed!" She swung the hammer again, and this time, the entire latch came off. Tayuya shrugged.

"Eh, good enough for me."

She inserted a coat hanger into the hole where the latch used to be and persuaded her locker to open that way.

"Any empty lockers by you?"

"There's one right next to you."

"Oh…" Tayuya glanced at the empty locker next to her and sighed. "I knew that." She opened it, threw her books inside, transferred the rest, and closed the locker, putting her own lock on and locking it. She shoved the appropriate books into her backpack, closed it, and headed for the theater. "Let's go, gonna be late for practice!"

Kabuto smiled. What was she going to do next, the same thing to a door? It wasn't unexpected…

OOOOOOOOOO

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, whose misadventured piteous overthrows doth with their death bury their parents' strife…O, I am fortune's fool!...then I defy you, stars."

"Okay, good job, Zetsu," Kakashi said, standing up. "Okay, everybody, break!"

The cast exited the stage, and Tayuya slowly pushed herself off Kabuto.

"Good job, genius," the silver-haired teen said dryly. "You managed to fall asleep on me. Again."

"I never get sleep," Tayuya muttered. "Like Sakon's twin, Ukon. He just doesn't sleep at night, so he always falls asleep during the day. He's lucky he's got a twin who can pretend to be him by flipping his hair around, otherwise he'd be in so much trouble for 'cutting' classes."

Kabuto smiled. "Well, Sakon and Ukon look exactly alike, save for the hair…that's the only way I can tell them apart."

"Sakon's voice is a little deeper than Ukon's," Tayuya said. "And Sakon sometimes wears a necklace. It's so funny."

Kabuto's smile widened. "It is. It makes me wonder…"

"He's bi."

"That might explain it."

Tayuya sat down on a table across from Kabuto, and her boyfriend sat down next to her a moment later. "So, what are you planning on doing after play today?" he asked slowly, leaning back a bit.

"I was just going to go home," Tayuya replied. "How about you?"

"Home."

Tayuya nodded, and the two lapsed into silence again. Tayuya took out her script and a highlighter and went over the second act; Kabuto took out a piece of gum and absently began to chew it up. Finally, Kurenai called them back to practice, and Tayuya clipped her highlighter to one of the belt loops on her jeans. She picked up her script and turned to the page Kurenai called out, and then took her place on the makeshift balcony for the next scene.

OOOOOOOOO

Naruto ran around in circles for a few minutes, wondering what he was doing.

He really had nothing better to do; there was simply nothing going on. His homework was too difficult, so he skipped it-as usual. His brother was on the computer. He wasn't too fond of reading. His other brother was on the video game console. His foster parents were…God knows where, and his sisters were all finding things to do. Half of them were out with friends, and the other half were either texting, doing homework, or both.

"Naruto! Dinner!"

Naruto sped down the stairs at his foster mother's call and slid into his respective place at the table. His sisters and brothers were already there; all six of them. Naruto's foster mother sat down, his foster father soon after, and his oldest sister said grace. The family ate in silence for a while before his father decided to try to create conversation. The attempt failed miserably, and the family lapsed into silence again. Naruto finished his food and put his plate in the dishwasher, then went into the office to steal the computer from his brother.

He really didn't have anything better to do than spam World of Warcraft.

OOOOOOOOO

Deidara glanced up at a knock on his door.

He stood up, set aside the magazine he was reading, and unlocked the door. He opened it to see Sasori standing there, grinning and leaning against the doorframe. "Hey, baby," he murmured, greeting Deidara with a soft kiss. "How's it been?"

"Good," Deidara replied. "My dad's still at work, and my mom's in the kitchen. Wanna go up to my room?"

Sasori shrugged and stepped into Deidara's house. "Sure, why not?" He left his shoes by the front door, and Deidara threw his jacket into the living room onto a couch. Sasori followed Deidara upstairs and into the blonde's room, and Deidara closed the door behind them.

"You okay?" Sasori asked, sitting down across from Deidara on the bed. "You seem kind of…quiet, tonight…"

Deidara shook his head, scooting closer to Sasori. "I'm okay," he said. "Just kinda tired…"

Sasori looped his arms around Deidara's waist, pulling the blonde closer. "That's good," he said, and gave Deidara a soft kiss. "I hate seeing you upset."

Deidara leaned his head against Sasori's shoulder, arms sliding around Sasori's waist in return. "It's nice that you care about me so much…"

Sasori simply nodded and raised a hand to stroke Deidara's long blonde hair. "Like I said, that's good. I'm not quite fond of you being down…"

"So…what did you have in mind for tonight…?"

Sasori shrugged. "Just hanging out, I guess," he said slowly. "Why, did you have something thought up?"Deidara shook his head. "Nah, we can just hang out…or make out…"

Sasori smiled. "I think I like that option better."

Deidara raised his head, and Sasori lowered his. The two gently kissed in the half-light of Deidara's desk-top lamp, and passed a good thirty minutes by.

OOOOOOOOO

Chouji sat at his kitchen table, doing homework and eating chips. Barbeque flavor, to be exact. The barbecue chips were his favorite, and he swore they were excellent brain food. His mother swore otherwise, but if it helped Chouji do better…

"Algebra sucks," Chouji muttered, scribbling out a problem. "All these X's and Y's…can't just use numbers, huh? And we don't even use this…period!" Chouji gave a heavy sigh, but buckled down and managed to finish the problems. "Done!" he exclaimed, tossing the rest of the books into his backpack. "And now, for a little fun…" He ran into the living room and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV and settling down for a bit of MTV. It was Chouji-chill-time, and he fully intended to make the most of it!

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade washed her hair and exited the shower, sighing from a long day. If she was lucky, she could find some leftovers and she wouldn't have to cook tonight…as Tsunade wandered into the kitchen, fully dressed again, she found that she was in luck-sort of. There were no leftovers, at least, none that were good, but there was a load of instant ramen…Tsunade threw some of that together and settled at the table with a magazine, bored to tears until her dinner was ready. Finally, she glanced up at the clock and noted that three minutes had gone by. She peeled the top off the ramen and promptly dug in, well aware that she shouldn't be eating instant ramen if she wanted to keep away a heart attack, but she ate it anyway.

Under no circumstances was she cooking tonight.

OOOOOOOOO

The night passed next to silently for Itachi and Sasuke, until dinner.

Dinner was always awkward between the brothers, but this was awkward beyond belief. It almost ended in a fist fight, had Sasuke not stormed off at the last second, but it was still the worst it had been in a very long time.

Kakashi was the subject.

_"How can you even come close to accepting that traitor? He took Uncle Obito's eye and now he thinks he's one of us! __Goes around just flaunting his prize all the time.__ Is it even possible to be so arrogant?"_

_"Itachi, he's not really proud of that-in fact, he tried to refuse, had Obito not talked him into it at the last second!"_

_"Sasuke, what you need to understand is that Hatake is still an enemy-even as cop to gang, he's an enemy, and will most likely stay that way for the rest of both our lives!"_

_"Yours and mine, or yours and his?!__ Itachi, do have something to tell me?"_

_"Sasuke, say that again, and you can rot on the streets, and I will not acknowledge you even as the worthless, ungrateful fool you are!"_

_"Ungrateful?!__ It was you and your little group of friends that killed the rest of our family! Am I supposed to be happy with that?"_

_"No, you're just supposed to be grateful that I stepped in at the last second and saved your stupid ass since it couldn't move!"_

_"If this is how you're going to treat me, then I wish you hadn't!"_

_"Go to your room, Sasuke! Now! You're grounded for the rest of the week!"_

_"For what, making your makeup bleed?__ Give me a break, Itachi. Just go fuck around with your buddies and see if I care!"_

And it was what it was.

Itachi was left with a messy table and a furious Sasuke, and Sasuke was left with a trashed room and a furious Itachi. Sasuke sank down on his bed, head in his hands, and Itachi did the same. Itachi's forehead hit the table, though, and he barely missed his plate. With a heavy sigh, Itachi questioned where he had gone so horribly wrong.

It was probably where he had joined up with Akatsuki to begin with.


	11. Chapter 11

"Yick. Preps at three o'clock."

Tayuya sighed and rolled her eyes, watching as the three girls pranced by, miniskirts riding up unbelievably and shirts peeling down. Temari, who was leaning back against a locker, whistled and waved, acting like a lesbian. Kin found herself laughing at the disgusted looks on the preps' faces, and kudos ran wild through the hallways. Other adoring fans, though, soon joined the ranks, and soon the hallway was divided. When the preps finally vanished, Tayuya slammed her locker shut and walked away, Kin and Temari walking with her.

"So…how's the boy…?"

Tayuya smirked. "Cute…and an insanely good kisser…"

Kin sighed and rolled her eyes. "You make me want a boyfriend."

Temari grinned. "Well, that junior Neji is cute…and so is the tattoo artist from my Algebra 2 class, Kankuro."

Kin shrugged. "Well, whatever. Wanna go do something fun like throw things at Orochimaru while he's asleep?"

"I do that during bio when he gives us class work," Temari said. "He gets mad and kills us all."

"Then let's kill the preps!"

A grin worked its way simultaneously over all three girls' faces, and they ran off to after the preps to look for something to screw up.

OOOOOOOOO

Ino began brushing eyeliner on her face, talking to Sakura at the same time. "I just don't know," she said. "Spring Fling is coming up, and I still need a dress! It's on May sixteenth, and today is…?"

"April twenty sixth."

"Thank you, Tenten. So, is anyone going to come with me to give opinions tomorrow?"

"I'm coming," Sakura said. "Of course! I was going to get mine, too."

Ino smiled. "Thanks," she said. "Tenten?"

The brunette girl nodded excitedly, and Ino smiled again. She finished her makeup, stuck it in her bag, and then turned to her friends. "Mall. Tomorrow."

"Great," Sakura commented. "Because I get the feeling that the freaks are going to be doing something nasty."

Ino sighed. "Sakura, you worry too much," she said smoothly. "We have Kin, the Goth freak, Tayuya, the tomboy, and Temari, the perfect gunwoman. Seen her shoot? Out on the streets, she's bad."

"Please, we're popular!" Tenten said. "She wouldn't dare. And besides, we've got the whole school behind us. It doesn't matter. She'll be so dead."

"Whatever." Ino's compact snapped shut, and she stowed it in her bag. "Let's go. I hear Sasuke-kun is hanging out around here in a few minutes!"

A collective squeal ensued, and the preps fled the bathroom. Temari grinned and popped up over the wall of one of the stalls.

"Suckers!"

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke slouched down against the locker. He had arranged to meet someone, and so far, they were late. He was right outside Kakashi's homeroom, ironically. And he had arranged to meet Itachi. Kakashi had just walked out, and Sasuke was wondering just how long he was going to be gone.

Itachi came up quick.

"Let's go, he's gone," he hissed, darting into the empty room. Sasuke sighed and followed.

"This is stupid," he said. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Because," Itachi grumbled. "We were wronged, and I want revenge."

"Dude, it wasn't even against you. Just chill and let it go. I don't want to get in trouble."

"I'll take all blame to just see his face. And trust me, Sandaime won't object. I'm a star student and I haven't been caught yet. I have a lie all prepared that he'll totally buy. Now, just take this-"

Itachi thrust a can of spray paint into Sasuke's hand, and pulled else something out of his backpack. He shoved this into one of the drawers in the desk, then jammed it closed and checked the latch. "What is that?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"Shut up. The less you know, the less guilty you are."

"You're an idiot! And I'm an accessory to this scandal!"

"Then, you're an accessory to an idiot. Just shut up and go along with it!"

Sasuke exhaled slowly and handed Itachi the paint. Itachi peeled back the paper over one of the blackboards, instructing Sasuke to hold the edge to keep it from tearing. He wanted no evidence. He carefully pulled out a gasmask and handed one to Sasuke, holding it over his face as he shook the can and began spraying letters in stark red onto the board. A crude image of a Sharingan soon followed, and Itachi shoved the can back into his backpack. He put the two masks in as well, and applied a single strip of double-sided tape to the back of the paper. "This is supposed to fall," he said, lips pursed. "And when it does, so does Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke sighed. "Can I go now?"

"Out the back. Less likely to be seen, and a few precious seconds to hide."

"Hide where? From what?!"

"Anything. Now go!"

Sasuke needed no second telling. He walked swiftly out the classroom, heading down the near-empty hallway without a glance from anyone. He could hear Itachi slipping out several seconds later, but he didn't turn around. He didn't need to. Sasuke decided to take the long route around to homeroom; he didn't feel like going yet, and he could always hide on the football field until the warning bell.

OOOOOOOOOO



The second bell rang, and Orochimaru almost whimpered in protest. He was nowhere near awake: and his homeroom was going to give him hell, he just knew it. Well, there were a few. He sighed and picked himself up from his desk, walking over to the door and shutting it, making sure it closed all the way and locked. He then walked back over to his desk and drained his coffee, sighing with the life it took to accomplish even that.

"Alright, everybody keep it to a dull roar. I am not in the mood to deal with your shit."

"Clearly," Sasori snickered. "What happened, ya died and came back?"

"Detention. Disrespect. Or take ten points."

A collective "oooooooh!" came from the class, with several catcalls and jeers. "You got owned, man!" and "You like your toasted BURNED?!" were among the comments. Orochimaru handed Sasori a half sheet of paper and instructed him to sign it. Sasori did so with a smirk, and Orochimaru filled out the rest. He scribbled his name at the bottom, then tore off the copy sheet on the back and handed it to Sasori. "I want your parents' signatures on that and returned to me by tomorrow. If you don't get it to me by then, it's more points."

"Haha, you got owned!" Kabuto laughed, sitting back and leaning on the desk behind him. He grinned nastily at Sasori, and the redhead stuck out his tongue. He sat down in a huff, a smug smirk still on his face.

"Dude, you have no idea-"

"_Oh my God!"_

Laughter rang out as Orochimaru dodged a falling can of paint, somehow making it out without a spot of red color on him. He angrily turned to Sasori and Deidara, who were both exchanged high-fives and rolling on the floor with laughter. "Detention," Orochimaru growled, clearly having trouble containing himself. "Private. For a month. Twice a week. With me."

Sasori sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can't. I'm double-booked with Tsunade and Pein."

"And I got Konan," Deidara said. "But Kakashi might be out to get me soon…"

"You're lying through your teeth."

"Damn right we are. Senior prank: accomplished! Dude, he is a deep sleeper. We even got the wiring down!" Deidara held up a remote and shook it, sticking out his own tongue to applause from the homeroom. Orochimaru took a deep breath and paced towards the door, motioning Sasori and Deidara out with him. The applause escalated to a standing ovation, and Sasori and Deidara bowed out of the classroom.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke made it to English Lit. early for once.

He plunked down in his seat, sniffing at the air. It still smelled like Itachi's paint. Still, he wanted to see what else Itachi had done. He had put something in Kakashi's desk…what was it?

"Alright, everyone take your seats."

Kakashi arrived two minutes after the bell to near mayhem, but everyone took their seats fairly quietly. It seemed they had been nervously discussing the smell, and not chattering like they usually did. Kakashi inhaled and coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. "Jeez, what happened?" he asked, walking around and trying to find the source of the smell.

The paper fell down.

Kakashi spun around and caught sight of the fallen paper, then his eyes narrowed into a glare. "Who did this?" he growled his eyes uncharacteristically hard and cold. "Someone better step forward, or I bring this to Sandaime!"

Sasuke swallowed hard. He could do this one of three ways: stand up and confess, stand up and say he knew who did it and finger Itachi, or talk to Kakashi privately. Well, he would go with tell him after class. Kakashi was most likely to believe him, and he would have a bit of time to figure out what he wanted to say. Sasuke glanced at the board. What had Itachi written, anyway?

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. Next to the words was a picture of a Kakashi's eye, the Sharingan of the Uchiha; words that read:

THE UCHIHA WILL TAKE BACK WHAT IS THEIRS.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I don't know who did it; I am not passing judgment; I am not investigating this thoroughly yet. But I am appalled that a loaded gun was rigged in a room to fire when a drawer was opened, and threats were openly written on a wall. If the person who did this turns themselves in by the end of tomorrow, the consequences will be lighter on you. But if you don't turn yourself in, or if someone else points the finger, all consequences will fall on your shoulders. These consequences include suspension indefinitely, automatic failure of conduct, ban from any school events such as prom, Spring Fling, and class trips, possible expulsion, and a report will be filed with the local police. As the teacher this crime was supposed to be committed against was a police officer himself, he will file the report personally and take his action both as a teacher and a policeman. Now, everyone in this school is under suspicion until we can check entrance and exit records on the security camera. Conduct yourselves accordingly."

Sasuke's heart began to pump faster and faster. He had to turn Itachi in. He had somehow managed to rig the gun in seconds to fire when Kakashi opened the drawer to his desk. The man had ended up shot in the abdomen, and was in the hospital with serious damage to his large and small intestines and a possible hit the kidney. No one had heard anything else yet, other than surgery was eminent.

Sandaime had called an emergency meeting the very next morning. Kakashi had been shot afterhours, and only a few teachers were left in the school. Pein, who was next door, and Konan, who was in the library downstairs, were the only ones who heard the gunshot and went to see what happened. Kakashi was barely conscious, but was able to tell them that the gun was rigged before he passed out. Orochimaru came by a few minutes later from the other building and administered first aid to stop the bleeding, and Konan called 911. Sandaime had called down every single homeroom to the gym in the morning announcements, and an emergency meeting was called. Sasuke knew now he had to turn in Itachi: he was a prime suspect, and he and everyone else knew it. Now, he just had to convince them…as Sandaime dismissed the classes, Sasuke stood up and walked out the door. As his class passed the office, though, he ducked in the door, virtually unseen, and darted behind a desk. He waited, sitting on the floor, as all the people cleared out, and then, when the hallway was empty, stood up again. He walked cautiously around to the front of the desk and waited for Sandaime to come back. He didn't have to wait long; the old man entered in a minute, and looked surprised to se Sasuke there.

"Sasuke…Uchiha Sasuke, correct?" the man murmured, walking around to the back of his desk. "I don't suppose this is about your brother? Or Kakashi?"

"…both, actually," Sasuke said slowly, looking away.

"Sit," Sandaime said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk. "I know this is hard, but be aware that we are trying to clear everyone innocent of all charges-"

"That's it," Sasuke said suddenly. "Itachi isn't innocent. He did it, all of it! And he made me help him!"

Sandaime looked shocked for a moment. "Well," he finally said, standing up. "I think it's safe to say that Itachi will be receiving a visit from the police tonight."

**A/N: Jeez, I was so beyond writer's blocked on this! Thanks to everyone who has stayed with me, and thanks to those who are just joining me. Please review; it makes me happy and keeps me motivated!!**


	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke sat on the couch, watching TV and trying to get his mind off Sandaime's words. _A visit from the police tonight…_Sasuke sighed and shook his head, rubbing his forehead. He was just too stressed out. Itachi, it seemed, was stressed as well. He was sitting at the kitchen table with books and papers laid out around him: legal documents on one side, schoolwork on the other. Itachi exhaled slowly and let his head hit the table, wrapping his arms around it. Sasuke almost felt bad: Itachi was stressed out enough as it was, and now he was going to get arrested?

Speak of the devil. A knock sounded on the door, accompanied by a shout:

"Itachi! Open up, police!"

"Sasuke, door," Itachi muttered. Clearly, he was hardly thinking straight.

Sasuke sighed, turned off the TV and stood up. He walked down the hallway and grabbed the key from next to the door. He inserted it into the lock and opened the door, standing firmly in the doorway and holding onto it as he glared at the four policemen standing on his porch.

"Where's your brother?" the first questioned. Sasuke reluctantly stepped aside, gesturing to the kitchen. "I'll get him," he said softly. He walked hallway down the hallway, leaned over, and called: "Itachi, it's for you!"

"I don't want cookies."

"It's the cops."

"I didn't do it. Wait, what didn't I do?"

"Ask 'em yourself."

Sasuke sighed and walked back towards the door, leaving it open and sitting down on the stairs, right across from the door. One of the policemen glanced inside. "May we come in?"

"No."

Itachi leaned on the banister, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes. "Alright dudes, what're ya arresting me for this time?"

"This time?!" Sasuke repeated. "How many times-?!"

"I got home before you got back from school," Itachi muttered. "Besides, it was all shit from the dude next door. We got over it and he moved out of state."

Sasuke sighed and put his head in his hands. "Just get this over with," he muttered. "I don't want more shit to deal with than I already have."

Itachi glared at Sasuke. "You knew about this?" he hissed. "The least you could have done was tell me."

The police stepped through the door, approaching Itachi as if approaching an aggravated, poisonous, viper. "Itachi, we are placing you under arrest for the attack on Hatake Kakashi yesterday under the charges of vandalism, endangerment of the public and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

Itachi sighed. "And what proof do you have?" he demanded. "Do you even have the right to-?"

"We have a witness statement, backed by fingerprint evidence and security camera evidence."

Itachi sighed again. "What witness?"

"Our witness wishes to remain anonymous."

The first policeman carefully turned Itachi and pulled his wrists together behind his back. The click of handcuffs soon followed, and then Itachi was led out of the house. The last policeman stayed behind, though.

"Do you have anyone you could stay with until this is sorted out?" he asked. "Any relatives in the area? And where are your parents?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "He killed them all," he growled, pointing to Itachi, who was stepping down off the porch. "Or rather, his gang did. They call themselves the Akatsuki, and they've all got no one left to impress. They've broken out of maximum security prison, vandalized, killed, assaulted-you name it, they did it. They came to my house one night and killed all my family. No one else lives in this area. Then Itachi came by…and he stopped them from killing me…but he helped the rest of them get away. Then he took me and ran."

Sasuke was surprised. He had never told anyone any of this-let alone someone he didn't even know. The policeman only seemed surprised: he had never heard of this. He had heard it from stories, newspapers, and TV, but never from an eyewitness. He exhaled slowly. "Since you're older than thirteen, you are allowed to stay home alone for a maximum of three days. But after that, you must have made arrangements for yourself. Call your school, and tell them you will be out for a few days. Stay here, but call a few friends and ask to stay with them. We will be checking up on you to make sure something is done."

Sasuke nodded numbly. He couldn't deal with this-he needed sleep, comfort food, and friends.

Oh, right. He didn't have any.

The policeman walked out, and he heard squad cars booting up and roaring out of the driveway. Sasuke sank down on the stairs, the front door closed through the courtesy of the policeman, and buried his face in his knees.

Tears hit his eyes.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Hey…look, no, I just-no, I need some place to stay for a while…no, my grandmother is coming up and moving in to live with me, but there's some shit goin' down with her landlady and she needs a little time…and dude, no, she lives in God forsaken Ame. She's not gettin' here any time soon. I just need to stay for a few days until this all blows over…"

Sasuke was on the phone with one of his classmates. Kiba, from English Lit. Sasuke thought he could stand the kid for a few days until his grandmother could scram her ass up to Kono.

"Sorry, man, but my place is loaded," Kiba replied. "We're not exactly in a good position…just got some new puppies, you know…"

"It's okay," Sasuke said with a sigh. "I'll call someone else."

"Look, man, I'm really sorry. If there's anything else I can do…"

"It's fine. I'll talk to you at school."

Sasuke sighed again and hung up the phone, trying to think of who else he could call. Maybe some of Itachi's friends could help him out…

Wait. Kabuto!

That nerd from Oto-he lived alone, he heard, and knew Itachi very well. Maybe he could help! Sasuke called him right away, tapping his fingers impatiently while he waited for Kabuto to pick up the phone. "Come on, pick up…" he muttered. "Damn, Kabuto, I don't want to spend three days with Naru-hi, Kabuto?"

OOOOOOOOOO

"I heard he's in a coma."

"I thought he was dead."

"He's not dead, you dumbass. You would have to be stupid to think that."

"I am not stupid!"

"Damn blondes. Every move the hell over."

Tayuya pushed her way through the halls, seeking out her boyfriend. Kabuto had to know what happened-he always knew what happened! Rumors anew had spread about Itachi, Kakashi, and even Sasuke as news of Itachi's arrest reached ears. Tayuya ran down to Orochimaru's homeroom-Kabuto was usually hanging around near there, and if he wasn't, Orochimaru would know. And besides, Tayuya needed to hand in some extra credit…that was due two weeks ago. Well, Orochimaru probably wouldn't even realize. He was dead in the morning. Tayuya had him first period, too: she would know.

"Orochimaru-sensei?"

"I'm alive."

Tayuya gave a wry grin. "I wanted to hand in my extra credit…"

"Due two weeks ago? Whatever, just give it to me."

Tayuya's eyebrows rose. Wow, he remembered. She placed the paper on the desk in front of her, waiting and gathering her words as Orochimaru erased a bit of graffiti from the boards. "Look, I also wanted to ask you…since you were there…"

"This is about Kakashi."

Tayuya slowly nodded. It was more a statement than a question, but still left correction open. But Orochimaru was usually right, and thus needed no correction.

"Look, he's fine. I teach Anatomy-I would know. The bullet missed his kidney, although it did tear up his small intestine. His large intestine had a nick, but easily dealt with. He has been unconscious for the past two days, and just woke up this morning. Or late last night-I heard from Sandaime it was four a.m. or something. He will be returning to school as soon as he can move around adequately, which should be another two or three weeks. Until then, a substitute under the name of Yamato is being brought in."

Tayuya seemed stunned by Orochimaru's knowledge-and automatic answering of every question she might have. Orochimaru turned around and dropped the eraser on the board behind him, then leaned on the ledge. "Kabuto was just here, and took a left out. No, I do not know Yamato personally."

Tayuya grinned. "Jeez, are you phycic?"

"No, I've just done this job too long. Teens are surprisingly predictable."

"How long is too long?"

"Three years."

"Kids?'

"Single."

Tayuya shrugged. "Well, good luck. Also, I hear a senior prank was accomplished…?"

"It missed."

"Lovely. Well, thank you, and see you first period."

"Don't be late again. You give me a migraine."

"Good to know."

Tayuya walked out of the room unsure of what to think. She knew Orochimaru knew a lot; she also knew that he was quick, intelligent, and dangerous. But what she wasn't sure of was how he seemed to know exactly what was coming. Nothing seemed to faze him; nothing shook him out of place. All the rest of the teachers were nervous and on edge, and seemed to want to avoid the subject of Itachi, Kakashi, and even Sasuke. And here was Orochimaru, coming right out and speaking about it like he was giving the time of day. And then there was Itachi…was the kid crazy?! What was he thinking, with the graffiti, and the gun, and the-

"Tayuya!"

Tayuya glanced up in time to see Kabuto in front of her. She slapped herself back to the present, and shook herself a bit. "Hey," she said. "Sorry, just a little spacy…"

"We all are," Kabuto said grimly. "Asuma called out one of his days off to see Kakashi. They're good friends. Kurenai and Gai went with him, and Tsunade went at a different time. She actually has a PhD, you know."

Tayuya made a face. "Weird," she muttered. "I never would have guessed that witch-"

"She has a gentle hand when she needs it. She works part time in a hospital, actually."

Tayuya shook her head. "Oh, the world. And Spring Fling…what the hell is going on with the world?"

"It's just too damn busy."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey…how ya feelin'?"

"Like crap."

"Points for honesty."

Asuma sat down next to Kakashi, Kurenai sitting down next to him. "You okay?" she murmured, red eyes running down over Kakashi's body. She could see the bandages around his torso, even through the sheets on the bed. Kakashi was still shirtless; she had to wonder what exactly he had been doing for the past few days. From the rumors, sleeping. She could see that he still had on his boxers, but that seemed it.

"Don't you guys have classes to teach?"

"We got subs," Kurenai replied. "We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'll be back soon," Kakashi muttered. "Two weeks, maybe. Something around there."

Asuma gave Kakashi a small smile in hopes of comforting him. "Well, I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery. Just a bit of new, Itachi has been arrested and I being charged with attempted murder, vandalism, and endangerment of the public. Sasuke is going to have his grandmother come up and live with him."

Kakashi gave a small hum of affirmation, but said nothing. He was turning this over in his mind. Who was pressing charges? The school? He hadn't even gotten to contacting someone to press charges or file a report-and then there was the nightmare of his own class…they would most likely want to see the scar, and ask dozens of questions. One thing was for sure, re-entry was going to be rough.

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi glanced back over at Asuma, shaking himself back to the present. Kurenai gave him a gentle smile and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly. "We'll help you. It'll all work out fine."

**A/N: Well, he's alive. Review or I kill him off!!**


	13. Chapter 13

"So…what do you think?"

Ino came out o the dressing room in a long, strapless, pink dress. It poofed out in ripples down to the ground, and faded from hot pink at the top to pastel pink at the bottom. Ino had gone first dress shopping, and Sakura and Tenten had tagged along.

"I like!" Sakura said, looking Ino over. "Got shoes?"

"I'm definitely wearing these adorable black heels that lace up," Ino said. "No matter what. I mean, black goes with everything, right?"

"Totally," Tenten said. "But, if they're lace up, why not try something shorter to show that off?"

"That's why you're here," Ino said with a grin. "Here's the next one!" She disappeared into the tiny changing room again, and emerged a minute later wearing a different dress. This one was a pencil dress, a light shade of pink with a black bow around the empire waist. It had off-the-shoulder sleeves, and these were only about an inch long. The dress only went down to Ino's thighs, and only halfway down, at that.

"I love!" Tenten exclaimed. "Especially since you're wearing lace-ups? Amazing!"

"Sakura?" Ino asked, turning around once to show off the cut of the dress. A small smile was on her face; clearly, she liked this one the most.

"Definitely a great choice," Sakura said. "I'd go with that one."

"Wait!" Ino suddenly exclaimed. "I have one more!" She darted back into the changing room, coming out one last time with a long, pink-and-black dress on. It was pencil until it reached halfway down the shins, where it suddenly flared out dramatically. The top part, the spaghetti-strap bodice, was a shimmery black, and the rest tapered off to a pastel pink from a hot pink. Ino posed for her friends, who nodded and smiled appreciatively.

"I think I like the second one best," Sakura commented. "But that's definitely pretty."

"Same as Sakura," Tenten said. "Lovely dress, but the other one was better."

Ino smiled. "It's settled then!" she said excitedly. "Just let me change back, and then we can check out and you guys can go." Ino quickly stripped off the dress, put on her jeans and baby tee, then slipped into her shoes: cute black flats with sparkles around the edges. She put the dresses back on their hangers and put the two she wasn't getting on the return rack just outside the changing rooms. The short dress she kept over her arm, though, and the three girls went up to check out. Ino handed over her parents' credit card and paid quickly, then came back to her group.

"Who's next?" she asked. Tenten raised her hand, and the three went off in search of Tenten's dress. Tenten had two choices: a light blue spaghetti strap that flowed loosely all the way to the floor, or a mint green strapless with a chocolate-colored sash. The green dress was tight around the waist, but let out all the way to Tenten's knees. Ino and Sakura voted on the green, and Tenten paid in cash. Finally, Sakura had her turn. Her choices consisted of a red ball gown-style dress, a light pink scoop-neck, and a white tunic with a fitted empire waist. The red ball gown was fitted until the hips, and then cascaded all the way to the floor. The light pink was fitted all the way down to the knees and had a dark chocolate ribbon tied into a bow on the side. The light pink had an empire waist, but was loose until it reached its full length, where it stopped just shy of Sakura's knees. It was decided that Sakura would take the blue, and the girls left the mall happy.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Come, I gotta look good! Just once! We can all go together…take a bit of the sting out."

Temari sighed and rolled her eyes. "Tayuya, I think kabuto's girly nature is rubbing off on you. I seriously think he's gay."

"Nope," Tayuya said confidently. "Just very confident in his sexuality."

"Gotta be pretty confident to go around with hair like that."

"Huh?"

"Nothing!"

Tayuya sighed and slammed her locker. "Alright, fine. Friday after school, we all walk over to the mall and get ourselves some cute dresses for Spring Fling. And after that, we all go back to my place, get ready, and then Kabuto can drive us all over to Spring Fling. He's picking me up at seven."

Kin shrugged. "Sounds cool. I'll be there."

"Sweet." Tayuya and her friends headed off to homeroom; the warning bell had already rang. Everyone else was rushing to their respective homerooms, and Tayuya was no exception. Her homeroom was upstairs, and she had half a minute to get there. She was wondering who was subbing for Kakashi now; that was her homeroom. And she hadn't been there in years.

Tayuya entered the room just as the bell rang, and pumped her fists into the air in a show of victory. "First time in homeroom since February!" she crowed, sliding on her knees across the front of the room. The class applauded, and Tayuya took a goofy bow. Even the sub seemed amused; he was a tall, brown-haired man with wide, dark eyes and a smooth, soft face. "Alright, everyone, take your seats," he said, a small smile on his face. Tayuya grinned and stood up, flashing the class a "v-for-victory" sign before sitting down in some random seat. No one sat in their assigned seats anymore; Kakashi was too loose for that. He couldn't care less.

"Well, since you are clearly not Ino, and you are clearly not Ryuu, I'm going to take it these aren't your assigned seats," the man muttered. "Well, whatever. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Yamato. I used to teach her a while ago, but left to work an office job. I offered myself out as a sub here, ya know, for the HDTV, and Kakashi was actually a good friend of mine. Anyway, I'm just going to call your name, and if you're here…just say something that isn't sexual or offensive, okay? Shino?"

"Here."

"Ino?"

"Present!"

"Naruto?"

"Yo!"

"Ryuu?"

"Booze."

"Not offensive or inappropriate, please. Kenshin?"

"Hola, senor."

"Close enough. Tayuya?"

"Rockin' out."

"Kiba?"

"Chill, man."

The rest of roll call went similarly, and Yamato was left shaking his head and laughing. "Well, you're an interesting group, left to your own devices. Well, keep it to a dull roar, spit out your gum, don't even think about the paper airplanes, and enjoy homeroom."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke slouched down in the back of homeroom. First day back, and things were hardly better. Whispers and rumors ran rampant, and people tended to get the stories wrong. Sasuke just ignored them all; it was better within these buildings than out on the streets. Every time Sasuke walked off campus, whether it was to catch the bus or otherwise, he was assailed by news reporters, paparazzi, and cameras. Several people ended up punched in the jaw, but Sasuke otherwise just pushed through and kept walking. He didn't give a shit about his brother. Although, getting arrested in a beater and hot pants did make a statement…it screamed DESPERATE SLUT.

"Hey."

Sasuke glanced up at Sakura, who had sat down next to him and was grinning like she knew something he didn't.

"Go away, you mother fuckin' whore."

Sakura looked like she had been slapped. "Well!" she sniffed, turning her dainty nose up into the air and stalking away. "I _was_ going to ask you to the dance, but apparently you're not interested!"

"Nope, see ya!"

Sakura gave a high-pitched sniff and stalked away, looking miffed. Sasuke sighed and slouched down further in his seat.

"Yo."

A black-haired girl sat down next to him, with one long ponytail and dancing black eyes. "She is so annoying, huh? I hate those preps."

"Ditto," Sasuke muttered. "Now, why are you here?"

"To scare 'em off."

Sasuke smiled. "Need a date to Spring Fling?"

Kin smiled in return. "Yeah…as a matter of fact, I do."

Sasuke sat up a bit. "Just for the night. Until I decide if I like you or not."

Kin shrugged. "Fair. But can I rub this in the preps' faces?"

Sasuke spread his arms, palms up and eyes suddenly a bit brighter. "I'd like that," he confessed. "I'd like that very much."

"And can I lie and say we're going out?"

"Why not?"



OOOOOOOOOOOO

"_I'm dating Uchiha Sasuke!!"_

Kin ran down the hallways after homeroom screaming this, content to just watch the looks on people's faces. Temari and Tayuya gave her kudos; the preps gave her nasty glares or cries of pain; the jocks looked confused. Eighth period; Kin had done this after every period to ensure that even the emos got the word. Now, she ran down a main hallway, giving high-fives right down the line. She skidded down on her knees the rest of the hallway, much like Tayuya had done in homeroom. Kin's last period was Asuma, so she was in the math building. Kin then ran down to her locker in the main building, still screaming, and finally arrived at her locker. She exchanged her books at the speed of light, then ran out the back exit with Tayuya and Temari, heading over to the mall. They had barely calmed down by the time they were there; it didn't take long to calm down in the air conditioning, and the three girls were soon heading for a popular clothing store. They flitted in and out, trying on dresses and running around in general. It took them four hours to find a dress for each of them, and by then they were all tired and ready for a bit of food and just some time to sit around and chat. Tayuya's mom was driving them to her house, and then Kabuto was picking them up at seven to arrive at the Spring Fling at seven thirty. The girls piled into the car carrying pretzels and lemonade and a shopping bag for each of them. They passed the drive back to Tayuya's in relative quiet, due to the fact that they needed to recover their energy-and they were all eating their pretzels.

Back at Tayuya's the girls all ran into Tayuya's room, dumping their garbage in the can along the way. Tayuya pulled out a rice paper changing screen and quickly changed into her dress, a long black dress that reached the floor. It was fitted down to the hips, where it split down one side, hanging open over most of Tayuya's left leg. It was smooth black silk, a single strapless piece that flowed elegantly over Tayuya's figure. The red-head came out from behind the screen, surrendering it to Temari. She then stood in front of her mirror with a multitude of bobby pins and a few hair ties, wrestling with her hair and trying to get it into a nice style. Temari emerged from behind the screen in a slinky red dress, which had long, off-the-shoulder sleeves that almost covered her hands. The dress itself only came halfway down her thighs. Temari sat down on Tayuya's bed and began lacing up a pair of black lace-up platform sandals. Kin ducked behind the screen and changed into a dark green dress. This one had a fitted bodice accented with sparkles, and then fell loosely to Kin's ankles. She, too, had black sandals, but hers were three-inch heels. Kin simply put her hair into a half ponytail, and found herself satisfied. Tayuya, on the other hand, was only half done with her hair. She had put her hair into a ponytail, and was now looping chunks of it around and pinning these loops to her head, letting half of the hair hang down. It would look nice when it was finished-but right now, it was only a third done. Temari and Kin finished with themselves, then glanced at Tayuya, still wrestling with her hair.

"Here," Temari said, taking a few pins from Tayuya and helping her with the pieces of hair she missed. With Temari helping, Tayuya was done a lot faster, and the girls were finally satisfied with themselves. Tayuya grabbed her shoes and they all went downstairs for a small dinner.

"Sweet!" Tayuya exclaimed, digging out a cup of instant ramen for each of them. She poured hot water in, and then were the painful three minutes one had to wait for the ramen to cook. Tayuya kept glancing at the clock; time seemed to go so slowly!

Temari was the first to pounce on her ramen. Kin attacked next, and Tayuya was not far behind. They ate standing up to spare their dresses, and all the high heels came off. It took them a total of fifteen minutes to polish off the ramen; it took another five to get their shoes on. Tayuya had left hers upstairs; she ran back up to get her shoes.

"Oh, are you serious?!"

Tayuya grinned at Temari's exclamation. "Of curse," she said smugly. In her hands were a pair of tall, tall, suede boots. They were a deep black color, and came up well over Tayuya's knee. The cut of the boots would be shown off in the cut of the dress; frankly, Tayuya had been searching for something to wear these boots with for ages.

A knock sounded on the door.

Tayuya straightened out her other boot, then stood up. "Ride's here!"

**A/N: Mostly Spring Fling prep…I promise next one will be better than a prep shopping trip!! T.T**


	14. Chapter 14

Ino and her friends were already at the dance.

The preps were all in a cluster, whispering, giggling, pointing, and drinking whatever was present, usually fruit punch. The music was playing, and the floors and walls were shaking with the volume. Sakura and Tenten were eagerly keeping an eye out for Sasuke, and Ino was looking for anyone else cute. The rest of the preps were gossiping and/or dancing-and Ino was part of the gossiping group.

And the gossip just got juicier.

Sasuke walked in, but he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by a tall, pretty girl with long black hair and dark eyes. Ino gaped. That was-!

"Kin!!"

Kin and Sasuke paused for a picture at the entrance, just for the record, and then proceeded into the dance. Two more couples followed, each stunning Ino more than the first. Temari and Shikamaru walked in, and then came Tayuya and Kabuto. She was almost as tall as him-with the three-inch heels, of course. The two walked in like nothing was unusual about them, and Tayuya gave Ino a goofy wave. Ino felt her jaw drop, and gestured blindly to her friends. The entire group stopped dancing, whispering, or whatever they were doing, and stared.

"That's…that's…"

"Whoa."

Kin and Sasuke walked into the room, hand in hand, and walked right up to Ino. "Hey!" Kin greeted, a huge grin on her face. "So, who're you here with?"  
Ino motioned dumbly to Neji, who Kin recognized as a junior. "Ooooooooo, a junior! You slut, girl!" Kin grinned at Ino and walked away, followed by Sasuke, who offered a goofy salute and a mocking smirk. Sakura found herself, staring as well-too bad her date was Lee. He was the ditziest junior ever, but he had an insane crush on her, so she went to prom with him. Tenten had scored on a sophomore named Kankuro, but the two hardly knew each other. Tayuya passed Ino and stuck her tongue out, flashing a "V-for-victory" sign at the girl and breezing right on past. Kabuto gently, but firmly tugged her away, and the two headed over to the refreshments table. Temari and Shikamaru hit the dance floor right away, despite Shikamaru's complaints, and somehow, the dance passed quickly.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Alright, people, it is midnight, so we are here to announce the Spring Fling king and queen! The nominees are: for queen, Yamanaka Ino, Kin, Tenten, and Temari. For king: Uchiha Sasuke, Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Itachi, and Hyuuga Neji. Well, since Itachi got arrested, I don't think he's coming. Might want to count him out…"

There was a collective chuckle from the students at Sandaime's announcement, but the rest of Akatsuki wasn't too pleased. All the nominees clambered up onto the stage, boys on one side, girls on the other. Sandaime opened and envelope, pulled out a piece of paper, and read off the Spring Fling king and queen.

"Our Spring Fling king is Uchiha Sasuke, and his queen is Kin!"

Sasuke shrugged. It wasn't even his idea to be nominated, and here he was on the stage, with the plastic crown and all the fireworks. Kin grinned and wrapped her arms around him, and the two walked off the stage with a smirk and a grin for Ino. Ino looked miffed, but smiled at the crowd and left with a bit of dignity. The rest of the people left in relatively the same way, and the final song of the night came on. Kin recognized the song as Calling All Angels, by Train. Ah, perfect: this song usually came on in movies when the hero and the heroine finally realized their true love and kissed each other. If she was lucky, Kin could pull a nice one…

"Hey…Sasuke…okay if we kiss?"

Sasuke smiled, his arms wrapped around Kin's waist and pulling her closer. "If one asks, they kill the mood." But, despite his words, Sasuke lowered his head slightly to match Kin's, and offered her a soft, chaste kiss. Kin was surprised to say the least: was this fake, just to impress the preps? Or was it real, and Sasuke actually did like her? Either way, Sasuke was one damn good kisser…Kin leaned into the kiss, expressing her opinion to Sasuke before mutually parting.

"And no, that was not just for show. I think we can get over pretending to go out and get to the real thing."

Kin smiled. "I'd like that," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a shake of her head. "So, first date is…?"

"Go for Friday after school," Sasuke said. "Just walk over to the mall and see a movie."

Kin nodded. "That sounds good," she said. "I'll just make sure I can get a ride, and we'll go from there."

A couple now. Could this get any better?!

OOOOOOOOOOO

"I'm a hell of a scandal, me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen, I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen!!"

Kin danced down the halls on Monday with her iPod, looking quite energetic and hyper. Temari slammed her locker and turned around, smirking.

"Happy?"

"Very."

Temari motioned to Kin to walk with her, and the dark-haired girl proceeded to dance the entire length of the hallway. Temari finally reached over and pulled one of the ear buds out of Kin's ear, momentarily getting her attention.

"Hi."

Temari laughed. "Sugar for breakfast?"

"The sugariest!"

Temari glanced off to the side, then a smile broke out over her face. "That's Shikamaru. Gotta go. Have fun!!"

Kin waved and stuck her iPod back in her ear, then continued to dance down the hallways. It was too good a day to not look stupid in her glee.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru was in a strangely good mood.

He laughed at the cow that someone in his first period class had left on the board, and actually left it up for the rest of his classes to see. He didn't throw chalk at Ryuu when he fell asleep in class, and he notified the class of a would-be pop quiz tomorrow. By the time eighth period rolled around, four people had asked Orochimaru if he had taken some of the drugs he had confiscated. Another three had asked if Orochimaru was feeling alright, and Kabuto had flat-out asked him if he was drunk. That earned him a marker thrown at his head, and Orochimaru dryly asked Kabuto what he thought. Kabuto shrugged and replied,

"Well, someone drunk couldn't throw a marker with that kind of accuracy, since you were clearly aiming for my forehead, so I'm going to say no."  
Orochimaru smirked. "Correct. Now, how many muscles does it take for one to make a facial expression?"

"Roughly forty, but it depends on the expression."

"Good. Now, continuing with the class…"

"Can we not?"

"Shut up, Kenshin. Or I give homework."

"You weren't going to give homework? Who are you and what have you done with Orochimaru-sensei?"

"I had a triple Espresso this morning, and semi-adequate sleep. Now shut up before it wears off."

Kabuto grinned and leaned back in his chair. Nothing like sleep. That sounded nice right about now…Kabuto leaned forward again and began copying down a few of the notes from the board. Diagrams, for the most part. Orochimaru was going easy on them today. The second the bell rang, Kabuto shoved his things in his backpack and stood up, making for the door. Next period was study, and he needed to catch up on homework.

"Kabuto, a word?"

Kabuto turned around at Orochimaru's call, taking several steps towards Orochimaru. "Yes?" he asked, stopping a few feet away. Orochimaru handed him a paper, his own neat handwriting spelling out: 98 percent. Kabuto smiled and glanced at Orochimaru, a question on his face.

"I think you and I both know you're at a college level in an AP course. I would like to recommend you be moved up an entire year in college, wherever you go. All of your teachers have been talking about it, and I figured it was only fair to let you know. Sandaime will probably speak to you about it at some point this week. Again, thought you should know." Orochimaru offered a smile, and nodded to Kabuto. "Think about it."

Kabuto nodded and thanked Orochimaru, then exited the room and made his way to his next class. Skip an entire year…that was something huge. And depending on where he went, even bigger. He had already gotten offers from many competitive colleges, and so many had names. University of Konoha. University of Suna. University of Oto-! There was such a difference between them all, and yet they were all such prestigious colleges. He had gotten scholarships offering to cover most of his four years, and even grad schools. Kabuto was still in shock from the last one he had received! And now, skipping a grade? It was definitely something to think over long and hard.

"Hey…"

Kabuto snapped out of his daydream and glanced at the redhead that had just stepped up next to him. "Oh, hi," he said. "Guess what?"

Tayuya grinned. "What?" she asked, shifting her backpack's weight back a bit.

"Orochimaru-sensei told me my teachers are considering having me skip a grade."

Tayuya's eyes widened. "Wow…can someone say genius child?"

Kabuto smiled. "A bit," he said. "I've been offered mainly scholarships to medical schools, but I've also seen language and math."

Tayuya shook her head. "You're too smart for your own good."

Kabuto sighed and stopped at his locker, twisting the lock back and forth until it clicked. He pulled it out of the lock, opened his locker, and dropped the lock on the top shelf. "I think I'm going to medical school. Oto, probably. Either that, or Kono. Both have excellent courses, and I can take a few electives that appeal to me. Neurosurgeon, maybe. Or something like that."

Tayuya grinned. "Smart kid," she said, leaning against another locker as Kabuto began exchanging books. "I can't wait to see what you end up doing. You've got a ton of opportunities; you could do anything you wanted, and it wouldn't even cost you too much."

Kabuto shrugged. "But it's a question of whether or not I would be happy." He closed his locker, put the combination lock back on, and jammed it shut. "But like I said, I'm pretty happy with the looks of things."

Tayuya nodded, and the two walked away, heading for the cafeteria. They both had the same lunch period. "Tuna."

"Turkey."

"Trade?"

"Hell no!"

OOOOOOOOO

Kisame had cut gym. Again.

He and the rest of the Akatsuki were standing behind the school, plotting. Again. They weren't happy about Itachi getting arrested (again) and were trying to figure out a way to get him out. Again.

"What did he have on him when he got arrested?" Kakuza questioned. "He might be able to get himself out."

Kisame shook his head. "Anything that might have helped him would have been found in the strip search. They're too thorough for that, and he didn't get arrested for speeding."

Hidan gave a hum of affirmation. "Yeah, they're going to be extra careful with him, given what he's done and can do. He's going in maximum security, no doubt. Now, if he can get his hands on something that transmits electricity and salsa, then it's a different story…"

Sasori thumped Hidan on the back of the head. "You moron! How is salsa and electricity going to help anyone?!"

Hidan grinned. "It was on Mythbusters. Salsa transmits electricity beautifully, and you electrocute the bars on the doors. The salsa transmits that electricity and melts the bars."

Kisame shrugged. "Sounds likely, but how the hell is Itachi going to get his hands on salsa and electricity without killing himself?"

Hidan gave Kisame a "duh" face. "Lights? And the cafeteria?"

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Moving past Hidan's brainmush…I say toss the kid a gun and have him shoot out the locks."

"How are we going to get him a gun?"

Kisame shrugged. "Easy. Either we sneak in and toss it to him, or we visit and do this under the table."

"Easier said than done," Deidara grimaced. "Don't forget, they aren't going to be careless."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Itachi looked like a prostitute when he got arrested. Do you honestly think they're going to be worried about what his friends are doing as long as they're not making noise?"

Deidara sighed. "But we don't look like prostitutes, and so we have a problem."

Kisame sighed and sat up against the wall. "Which one of us looks the most like a girl and could pass himself off as Itachi's girlfriend?"

Deidara flushed. "Not again…."

**A/N: Let's face it, Dei-chan looks like a girl. Get him a skirt and something to stuff his shirt with, and ta-da! : ) Review, please?**


	15. Chapter 15

"Now, I don't wanna hear any…ifs, ands, buts, whines, complaints, or bitching of any kind when I say…dodgeball!"

Kabuto audibly groaned, then smirked at Tsunade. "What? You said nothing about groaning."

"Shut up, freshman," Tsunade barked, and a red rubber ball flew past Kabuto as the senior ducked the throw. "Split into two teams! Jocks versus nerds!"

"_Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ha!! _Pump it, pump it!"

Kabuto sighed and grinned as Kisame practically made hangtime as he leapt into the air, screeching victoriously. He grabbed Kakuza, Hidan, and Itachi and bolted to one side of the gym. Kabuto walked over to the other side, knowing exactly what he qualified as. Although, for a stereotypical nerd, he considered himself to have a decent arm. Kabuto noticed most of the seniors heading over to the jock side, and the juniors looking around as if lost. So, they actually had a middle ground. That was rare. Finally, the rest of the class decided, and Tsunade dumped a bunch of red rubber balls in the middle of the floor.

"Go!"

Kabuto sprinted for a ball and launched it at a junior he didn't know across the room. Gym class might normally suck, but dodgeball was the only thing he was good at and he wanted to make it last. Ducking and weaving through the sea of red flying at his face with something resembling terminal velocity, Kabuto managed to gain back a few members of his team who had been hit with balls. Neji, who had crossed over to the jock side of the gym, seemed to be on a roll-he was firing left and right, and everyone was (rather pathetically) aiming for him. Kabuto picked up a ball, waited until Neji's back was half-turned, and let it fly. The ball hit, surprisingly, and Kabuto promptly picked up another.

Gym class had him seeing red for a week.

OOOOOOOOOO

Hinata walked into English Lit. and sat down, and usual, in her seat on the side. But this time, Yamato wasn't there as usual. Hinata thought it was strange that he would be late; the bell had just rung, and Yamato was known for being on time. Just as Hinata was starting to question, Yamato walked in, panting a bit.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "I had to stop someone for chewing gum. Hall duty in the other building. Now, we are in the middle of reading Medea, an ancient Greek play. So, who can tell me-who wrote this play?"

Sasuke walked in, muttering, "Some ancient Greek dude. Here's my excuse." He shoved a piece of paper at Yamato, waiting while the man looked it over and sighed.

"Sasuke, fighting? Must you? You have enough on your plate. I won't give you the points for being late, because I know you are going through so much, but please, try to keep it under control." Yamato handed Sasuke back the paper with the points on it, watching as the teen sat down, a thundercloud hovering over his head. The teacher sighed and leaned on his desk, searching for a pen. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper, then stood up straight again and faced the class.

"So, can I get a name on who wrote Medea?"

OOOOOOOOOO

Temari walked into French class with little enthusiasm.

Konan was pretty good as far as teachers went, but frankly, her class was boring. Temari was good at French, and could speak it well. She had been told she was a natural, and that she had a talent for the language. Temari couldn't see where it came from, but she took the praise politely and gratefully. Temari sat down in her desk in the back and took out her notebook, setting it on her desk and rooting around in her backpack for a pen. Finding one, she set this on the desk as well and began absently doodling on the cover of her notebook until class started. The rest of the class trickled in slowly, and finally, the bell rang. Konan stepped up the front of the room and tapped lightly on the board with her nails.

"Here is the assignment for tonight. Copy it down, and then take out your homework."

Temari flipped her notebook to the page she had done her homework on and waited. She had already scribbled down tonight's homework on the next page. Konan walked by, briefly checking everyone' homework as they copied down the homework for tonight. Finally, she nodded in satisfaction and returned to the front of the room. The class began, and Temari shortly afterward zoned out. So bored…but, as Konan turned to write something on the board, a wad of paper hit Temari in the side of the head. The blonde caught it as it fell, opening it quickly underneath her notebook. It was a note from Kin, across the room. It read: _let's go to the mall tomorrow. Okay with you? We can see a movie._

Temari wrote a response and waited until Konan had turned around again to heave the paper ball across the room. Kin read the response Temari had written and smiled. _Sure. Sounds good. Let's see Kung Fu Panda._

Kin caught Temari's eye and nodded, and Temari smiled and nodded in return. The two passed French class much the same way, throwing paper balls across the room, much to the amusement of most of the class.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Study period could probably be called "nap period" for most.

Kisame had study right after gym, so he usually took a nap to replenish his energy. He needed it to shove so many nerds into lockers. Itachi did all the homework he normally planned to blow off, and Kakuza counted the lunch money he had stolen. Hidan napped as well, or cut himself.

But today was different.

Now, every Akatsuki member in the study period was clustered around one table, whispering and writing things down. They were plotting to break Itachi out and run him into Canada. But, of course, this would be no easy task, even for Akatsuki. And so, study period became plot period.

"Okay, so if we sneak him the gun from here, no one should see. Or, we could hide it in something and give it to him that way. I'm thinkin' a turkey sandwich."

Hidan received a smack to the back of the head for his genius.

"Goddammit, Hidan, did you fall off the top of the school sometime when you were a baby?" Kakuza sneered. "Because I think something got knocked loose in there. You lose too much blood cutting last night?"

Hidan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, it might work. We just bring in a bag of sandwiches, and act like we're sharing lunch. Or we could just do this under-the-shirt."

Kisame rolled his eyes. "I like the sandwiches better," he said dryly. "They tend to do strip searches in jails."

"But we're not the ones getting booked!" Hidan whined. "We can pull it off!"

"Dumbshit!" Kakuza hissed. "Don't you know when to shut up?"

Hidan saucily shook his head, and Kakuza sighed. "Look, we had better get crackin' on this. Itachi's not getting any younger, and he's one of our best members. Plus, It's a lot of fun hitting him in the face during gym class."

"That's you," Kisame dryly pointed out.

Hidan sighed. "Feels good," he muttered, but bent over to see Kisame's rough diagram of a jail. "Wassat?"

"Here are the holding cells. Warden's desk. Guards. Fencing. Entrance. Visitor cells. The middle ground. Now, they might have a GPS or something on him, so Hidan, I'm making it your job to get a jammer. Kakuza, get him his phone. That way if we need to run, we can do it and still have a general idea of what's going on. Also, bring something that breaks metal quickly and cleanly. There will be handcuffs involved. Each of us will bring a gun. Hand revolver. Where baggy jeans that hide plenty. And Sasori can bring the knives…and possibly poison. Deidara can bring a firecracker, or fireworks or something. Something to scare them off long enough to run. I'll have Zetsu bring a few smoke bombs, maybe. And then we should be prepared. If the guards open fire, throw a hand revolver to Itachi and let him take aim. He's best with the smaller ones, but he's deadly with 'em. Amazing aim. Sasori is good with the knives, so make sure he gets one. Deidara does something wonderful with bombs, so give him a few smoke bombs and the fireworks. We're not looking to go for lasting damage here, so I'm going easy. Now, questions?"

Hidan slowly raised his hand.

"Can I still bring sandwiches?"

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi stood next to the guard who had his arm in a vice-like grip, shifting his weight from foot to foot and staring around, bored. He had been waiting for a few minutes now, and he was getting bored very, very quickly. He had done this before, and the apprehension of the interrogation, the booking, and the mug shots meant nothing to him anymore. What was this, the third time? Fourth? Arrested so far for-

"Uchiha Itachi."

A policeman strode in from the doorway across the room, clipboard in hand and staring at Itachi with a tired look of something resembling disgust. "D.U.I., shoplifting a gun shop, gang activity, vandalism, stealing a car, trafficking illegal items, specifically guns and drugs, and breaking out of jail every single time." The policeman looked up, arching one eyebrow in Itachi's direction. He was a man in his fifties, but somehow still in shape and well-muscled. He had brown hair, black eyes, and a square-set face with a firm leonine jaw and a sharp nose. He had heavy brow ridges and piercing eyes that stared Itachi down as if staring down his nose at a disobedient child. "Care to explain yourself this time?"

"Shot someone."

"And this is old hat to you, huh? Well, you know what's going on. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you. Are you aware of and understand these rights?"

Itachi sighed. "Yep. Now, strip search or mug shot first this time?"

"Get a grip, smart ass," the policeman growled, setting his clipboard down on the desk on the right side of the room. "Strip search first. Although, with that get-up, we might have arrested you for prostitution as well."

Itachi glared, and promptly spat into the policeman's eye. The man lunged forward, punching Itachi hard across the face. Itachi, held in place by the policeman behind him, couldn't do much but roll with the blow a bit. He kicked out viciously, and soon found himself face down on the ground. Itachi sighed and went limp: that usually worked, as policemen took it as a sign of submission. Sure enough, Itachi was released and hauled to his feet, then shoved into a separate room with no windows, not even on the door. Itachi stumbled forward, being pushed so hard. The policeman stepped forward, unlocked the handcuff from Itachi's wrists, stepped back, and ordered: "Strip. Completely. And take out that hair tie."

Itachi gave the guard a look of bitter, vengeful contempt, but slowly began pulling off his clothes. He stood naked, spreading his arms and giving another dirty glare. The policeman crossed his arms.

"Bend over and shake out your hair."

Itachi sighed and did so, letting a knife slip from where his ponytail would normally be. The guard picked it up and stepped back again, and Itachi went through the entire strip search without a word and a lot of filthy looks. He had forked over several more knives and a gun from his shorts before the entire search was over, and finally, he was declared clean. Itachi put his own clothes back on, still glaring at the guard. Ah, well. At least his yearbook pictures came before his mug shot this year. One year, he missed the pictures because he was in jail. That was…oh, what charge was it? Oh, right-that was driving drunk in a stolen car. It was fun, though, and really worth the trip in and out. It was almost as fun getting out as getting in that time, as well. Can someone say joyride? Itachi found himself in a daydream as his sixth mug shot was taken, and then walked down the entire hallway to the holding cells still in the same fog.

He had money that said he would be out again in days. And, if Kisame was in charge, in Canada in a week.

**A/N: Review and give me your guess for Itachi's break-out time!**


End file.
